"Sir
ANNE BOLEYN.
ANNE BOLEYN
H Cbapter of lEnglisb 1bi0tor\>
1527-1536.
BY
PAUL FKIEDMANN.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOLUME I.
MACMILLAN AND CO.
1884.
The Eight of Translation and Reproduction is Reserved.
LONDON:
R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR.
BREAD STREET HILL.
PEEFACE.
IN this book I do not profess to present a complete
biography of Anne Boleyn, or an exhaustive history
of her times. It contains merely a sketch of some
events in the reign of Henry VIII. with which the
name of Anne Boleyn is intimately connected. Short
and incomplete as my account of these events is,
it will, I hope, draw attention to certain aspects of
the period between 1527 and 1536 which have not
hitherto been sufficiently explained.
The sources from which I have derived my materials
may be roughly divided into five great classes. First
of all, there is the English correspondence of Henry,
his ministers, and his subordinate agents, with sundry
proclamations, accounts, treaties, and similar papers.
Secondly, there is the correspondence of Charles V.,
of his aunt, sister, and brother, and of his ministers,
a good deal of which relates to England. Thirdly,
vi PREFACE.
there is the French correspondence of the same kind.
Fourthly, there is the little we have of the corre-
spondence of the papal agents and of the neutral
States. Fifthly, there are sundry diaries, chronicles,
memoirs of contemporaries, accounts compiled by
trustworthy writers from sources now lost, and
similar miscellaneous documents.
Of these sources the English State papers might
naturally be expected to be the most important ; but
though a good many papers of the time have been
preserved, they contain comparatively little informa-
tion, and that little is not quite trustworthy. In the
private letters which Englishmen then wrote to one
another there were very few references to public
events. Letters were frequently intercepted, and if
the authorities found in them any reflections on the
Government or anything which might be considered
a betrayal of trust, both the writer and the recipient
were in danger of losing life or liberty. People
wrote, therefore, as seldom as possible, and when
they did write they dared not abuse even the
opposition, for by some caprice of the king those
who were one day out of favour might next day be
controlling the royal council. If, by chance, some
man, bolder than the rest, expressed his real opinions,
PEEFACE. vii
the person who received the letter was generally
careful to burn it at once. Thus the private corre-
spondence which has come down to us from the age
of Henry VIII. throws hardly any light upon the
feelings of the nation and of the court.
In the correspondence of the royal ministers there
is a very incomplete and untrustworthy picture of
the negotiations which were carried on. The agents
of Henry VIII. were usually much more eager to
flatter the king by representing matters in a light
agreeable to his vanity, than to serve him faithfully
by accurately reporting what they knew. Even the
few who did not absolutely betray him did not scruple
to suppress facts or to tell downright lies, if by doing
so they might hope to please him. Whole series of
negotiations came to nought because Henry never
understood the real state of the case.
The dishonesty of the royal agents was bad enough,
but it was not worse than that of their master. In
the despatches and instructions addressed by Henry
to his agents both at home and abroad, he told the
truth only when the truth happened to suit his
purpose. Of course official documents issued by the
Government often contained garbled accounts of
events ; but in this respect the English were not
Vlll
PREFACE.
singular ; they acted in accordance with the custom
of all other Governments of the period. Even
Henry's secret despatches, however, were frequently
so misleading that his agents abroad found it most
difficult to obey his orders.
It would be possible to think with equanimity of
the annoyance which these misrepresentations caused
to Henry's ambassadors and ministers, and of the
difficulties they occasioned in the work of adminis-
tration ; but a historian may be pardoned if, for his
own sake, he sometimes becomes a little impatient
with Henry. The task of sifting the English
evidence, of examining how much in each despatch
is true, and how much is simply boasting and mis-
representation, is extremely laborious and tiresome.
The imperial correspondence is of a very different
kind. The agents of Charles V., knowing that to
flatter their master by deceiving him as to current
negotiations would not serve their interests, spoke the
truth, or what they believed to be the truth. Now
and then they took a little too much credit for ability
and energy ; but they never gave an essentially
false idea of the events they had to report. This
correspondence, therefore, of which the larger part
has been preserved, is of the greatest value ; and
PREFACE. ix
for my present work its value is much enhanced by
the fact that, with the exception of the papers printed
by Mr. Weiss,1 Dr. Lanz,2 Dr. Heine,3 and Bucholtz,4
very little use has hitherto been made of it by
historians.
The imperial correspondence is preserved at many
different places. Of the papers preserved at Besan-
§on, the Papier s d'fitat de Granvelle contain all that
is most important. Of those preserved at Simancas,
Barcelona, Madrid, and in the National Archives at
Paris and Brussels, a great many were copied for the
late Mr. Bergenroth, and a part of his collection is
now in the British Museum.5 I need not say that I
have made very considerable use of these transcripts.
The papers preserved in the Imperial Archives of
State at Vienna contain the correspondence of three
successive ambassadors resident in England, the
1 Papiers d'Etat du Cardinal de Granvelle, edited by Ch.
Weiss, Paris, 1841—1852.
2 Correspondenz des Kaisers Karl V., edited by Dr. C. Lanz,
Stuttgart, 1844; and Staatspapiere zur Geschichte des Kaisers
Karl V., by the same, Stuttgart, 1843.
3 Briefe an Kaiser Karl V., edited by Dr. G. Heine, Berlin.
1848.
4 Geschichte der Regierung Ferdinand des Ersten, by F. v.
Bucholtz, Vienna, 1834—1838.
5 British Museum Add. MSS., vol. 28,572 to 28,597.
x PKEFACE.
Bishop of Badajoz, Don Inigo de Mendoca, and
Eustache Chapuis. As my narrative is based chiefly
on the letters to and from Chapuis, I may be
permitted to examine the charges which have been
brought against him by some writers.
In 1844 a few of the letters of Chapuis were
printed by Dr. Carl Lanz. A translation of a few
more was published in 1850 by the Rev. W.
Bradford.1; About 1869 a part of the Chapuis
correspondence was inspected at Vienna by Mr.
Froude,2 and in an Appendix to the second volume of
his History of England he printed extracts from the
letters he had seen. Subsequently Mr. Brewer and
Mr. Gairdner, in the Letters and Papers of the reign
of Henry VIII.,8 gave abstracts of a certain number
of these papers ; and Don Pascual de Gayangos, in
his Calendar, presented what he called a "full
translation of their contents/*
The little volume of the Eev. W. Bradford is of no
great importance, for it contains very few papers, and
the translations are not quite correct. The two or
three papers printed by Dr. Lanz are very accurately
1 Correspondence of Charles V., by W. Bradford, 1850.
2 History of England, by J. A. Froude, 1872, vol. ii. Appendix.
3 Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of
Henry VI II., vols. iv. — vii.
PREFACE. xi
given, but they form a nearly infinitesimal part of the
correspondence. Unfortunately the extracts published
by Mr. Froude, which might have been of great value,
are full of mistakes. The abstracts in the volumes
edited by Mr. Brewer and Mr. Gairdner are certainly
much more correct than Mr. Froude's quotations and
translations, but even they contain a good many
errors. They were made from copies sent from
Vienna, which in some cases were not exact ; and the
writers have occasionally misunderstood Chapuis,
whose French is often rather puzzling. The full
translations of the letters of Chapuis said to be
contained in the Calendar of Don Pascual de
Gayangos must also be accepted with caution. Like
the abstracts of Mr. Brewer and Mr. Gairdner, most
of them have been made from copies which are not
always trustworthy ; passages are sometimes incor-
rectly rendered ; and the whole is interspersed with
explanations and additions without any indication
that they are the work of the editor. In reading this
Calendar one can never be certain whether it is Don
Pascual or Chapuis who speaks.
The shortcomings of nearly all the printed collec-
tions, abstracts, and translations of the letters of
Chapuis have raised a doubt as to his entire trust-
xii PKEFACE.
worthiness. Mr. Froude says of him : "It is
necessary to say that Chapuis was a bitter Catholic ; "
and further on : " He speaks of the king through-
out as the one person whose obstinacy and pride
made a reconciliation with Kome impossible. In
some instances his accounts can be proved untrue,
in others he recalls in a second letter the hasty
statements of a first." l
For these assertions Mr. Froude advances no
evidence whatever. It is not the fact that Chapuis
speaks of Henry VIII. as the one person whose
obstinacy and pride made a reconciliation with Eome
impossible. On the contrary, Chapuis speaks of the
king as a weak and vacillating man, and it is not
Henry but Anne Boleyn whom he calls the principal
author of heresy. And as to the accounts of the
ambassador which can be proved untrue, it is a pity
that Mr. Froude has not shown what they are.
Partial the accounts given by Chapuis may be ; he
may blame that which to many people appears right ;
he may call his adversaries bad names ; and he may
take pleasure in repeating the malevolent gossip of
the town. But his statements as to facts are always
made — as he takes care to show — on what seems to
1 History of England, 1873, vol. ii. p. 602.
PREFACE. xiii
him to be good authority, and I have found no
" untrue accounts " in his letters.
Of the strange way in which the ambassador is
dealt with by Mr. de Gayangos, whose charges are
more precise than those of Mr. Froude, I need give
but one instance. In a letter of the 10th of May,
1533, he makes Chapuis say: "Whoever has a
revenue of forty pounds sterling shall be compelled
to accept the said order [of the Garter] or give up
all the income of his estates, however large it may be,
during three years. . "l If Chapuis had really said
this, it would have proved that after a residence of
three years and a half in England he remained ill-
acquainted with its institutions and with its laws.
After some time Mr. de Gayangos himself noticed the
absurdity of the passage, and in an Appendix of
additions and corrections he offered the following
explanation : "I should say that the order to be
bestowed on the occasion of Anne Boleyn's corona-
tion was not that of the Garter, but the less ancient
and less esteemed Order of the Bath ; but thus it
appears in Chapuis' original despatch, or rather in the
deciphering."2 It would occur to few readers to
1 P. de Gayangos, Calendar of Stale Papers, Spanish, vol. iv.
part ii. p. 675. 2 xbid. p. 996.
xiv PREFACE.
doubt the accuracy of so definite an assertion, yet the
statement attributed to Chapuis occurs neither in the
original despatch nor in the contemporary decipher.
The charges of inaccuracy brought against Chapuis
are generally based upon mistakes of this kind. The
original despatches contain perfectly trustworthy
information ; and I fully concur, therefore, in the
high estimate of their importance which has been
expressed by Mr. Brewer and Mr. Gairdner.
But like all other political letters, those of Chapuis
are one-sided. If he alone had described for us the
events of the period, it would have been possible to
see only one-half of the picture. It is necessary to
supplement his accounts by those of other ambassa-
dors, to compare his judgments with those of members
of the party which he opposed. Unhappily the
materials for this part of my work have not been so
full as those found among the Bergenroth transcripts,
and in the Archives of Vienna. The correspondence
of the French ambassadors at the English court has
not, as a rule, been carefully preserved, and for whole
years we have but two or three letters to guide us.
Whether the ambassadors did not always keep
their papers, whether the French secretaries of
state lost many of the despatches which came from
PKEFACE. xv
abroad, or whether the missing documents were
subsequently destroyed during the wars and revo-
lutions by which France was afflicted, I am not
in a position to say. But historians may well ex-
press their gratitude to some Frenchmen who lived
at the time of Anne Boleyn — above all, to her name-
sake Anne, the grandmaster of the French court (later
on well known as the constable of Montmorency), and
to the brothers Jean and Guillaume du Bellay.
Montmorency kept all his letters, and to this day
there are in the Bibliotheque Nation ale, in Paris,
many volumes of his correspondence with all kinds of
persons. The brothers du Bellay did even more.
Guillaume intended to write a complete history of his
times (some say he did write it, but that the
manuscript was lost) ; and he and his brother, who
had long been ambassador in England and in 1535
had become a cardinal, collected originals and copies
of a large number of State papers, to which they
added most interesting notes of their own. These
papers are scattered among many volumes in the
Bibliotheque, some of them without any proper
indication of their contents. The reader will see
that I have made ample use of them.
Some of the despatches of Jean du Bellay's
xvi PREFACE.
successor in England, Jean Joaquin de Vaulx, as he
is generally called, are preserved in Paris. Only a
few letters of Jean Joaquin's successor, Giles de la
Pommeraye, survive, but the letters addressed to him
by Francis are in the Bibliotheque. They are un-
happily very brief. The distance from Paris to
London being so short, special agents were sent over
very frequently, and they carried either verbal
messages or instructions which have been lost.
Of the letters written by Montpesat, who succeeded
de la Pommeraye, we have but two or three. The
correspondence of Jean de Dinteville, Bailly of Troyes,
who resided in England from the spring to the
autumn of 1533, has been preserved tolerably com-
plete in several volumes of the Collection Dupuis, now
in the Bibliotheque Nationale. A good many of the
letters have been published by Camusat,1 but there
are many more to which I have been able to refer.
Dinteville was succeeded by Monsieur de Castillon, and
very few letters belonging to the time of his first
embassy to England are to be found. After Castillon
came Morette, and I do not remember to have seen a
single despatch written by him during a mission of
about six months. Finally, in June, 1535, Antoine
1 Meslanges Historiques, edited by N. C. T, Troyes, 1619.
PREFACE. xvii
de Castelnau, Bishop of Tarbes, was appointed to
reside in England, and scarcely a letter of his
remains.
For the time, therefore, when Castillon's letters
fail us, to the death of Anne, we know very little
either of the aims of King Francis in regard to
England, or of what the French ambassadors thought
and said about English affairs. This leaves many a
gap in the present history, for it is impossible, even
by the most careful use of every little scrap of
information, to make up for the loss of the cor-
respondence of the ambassadors. Perhaps further
search may bring some papers to light to remedy this
defect, but for the present nothing more can be done.
As to the fourth group of papers, a part of the
correspondence of Cardinal Campeggio has been
published, and throws considerable light on the events
of the years 1528 and 1529, J The correspondence of
the papal nuntio, Baron de Burgo, has not been
printed, and I cannot even say whether it exists, as
the papal archives were not open to the public when
I was in Eome. My inquiries on the subject have
1 Vetera Monumenta, edited by Dr. A. Theiner, Home, 1864 ;
Monumenta Vaticana, edited by Dr. Hugo Laemmer ; and Lettere
di tredici kuomini illustri, edited by Porcacchi.
VOL. I. b
PREFACE.
led to no result. Of the ambassadors and agents of
minor states, only two contribute to some extent to
the materials for my work. The despatches of the
Venetian ambassadors and the Venetian secretary,
with sundry reports, were calendared by the late Mr.
Kawdon Brown ; ' and the letters and the very in-
teresting diary of Peter Schwaben, twice Danish
ambassador at London, have been carefully edited by
Mr. C. F. Wegener, the keeper of the Danish State
Archives.2
Besides this mass of documents there are a great
many contemporary histories, chronicles, and accounts,
which I could not leave unnoticed. Some of them
are very trustworthy, as, for instance, a long memoir
drawn up by Cardinal du Bellay for the work of his
brother Guillaume. Most of them, however, are
confused and misleading, and it is necessary to test
with the greatest care the evidence for every state-
ment they contain. If in some instances I have failed
to reject an unfounded assertion as to details, or to
accept what is true, I hope I may be pardoned on
1 Calendar of State Papers, Venetian, edited by K. Brown, vols.
iv. and v.
2 Aarsberetninger fra det kongelige Geheime-Archiv, edited by
C.F. Wegener, vol. iii., Copenhagen, 1860—1865.
PREFACE. xix
account of the difficulties I have had to encounter.
As a rule, I have not accepted the evidence of
chroniclers and the writers of diaries, except when
they report facts which must have been well known
to the general public. About other matters they
wrote from mere hearsay, and as they were not
generally men of high station or men who were
trusted by the chief ministers, they were much
offcener ill-informed than otherwise.
Having now spoken of my sources in general, I
must say a few words as to the shape in wrhich the
materials present themselves to the historian. A
great many State papers have been printed in full in
the numerous collections which have been published
during the last three hundred years or more ; but
these printed collections are of very different value.
In some of them there is scarcely a misprint or a
wrong reading in a hundred pages. Others, on the
contrary, have been so carelessly edited that they are
absolutely worthless. Papers have been issued as
authentic, which have since been proved to be
forgeries ; and some party writers have even tampered
with the documents from which they print, entirely
changing the sense. I am sorry to say that this
practice has not wholly died out even in our century.
b 2
xx PREFACE.
In cases in which the original paper can no longer
be found, a printed document cannot, therefore, be
accepted as genuine or as correctly given, without a
very close examination of the text and of other papers
attributed to the same author. The result of such an
examination often is that a printed document is
shown to be either quite spurious, or very incorrectly
rendered, or (and this is the most frequent blunder)
something altogether different from what it is said
to be. I need only point to the letter (printed by
Burnet) which Anne Boleyn was formerly supposed
to have written from her prison in the Tower, but
which is now generally admitted to be a forgery, and
to the letter of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII. to
AVolsey, printed by Sir Henry Ellis as a letter of
Catherine. These are very glaring examples, which
have long been known, but they are by no means
singular. There are a good many more printed
letters, the testimony of which must be rejected.
Another difficulty is occasioned by the wrong
dates given to papers, or by the absence of all dates.
In the time of Anne Boleyn the year was reckoned in
four different ways — from the 25th of December, from
the 1st of January, from the 25th of March, and from
Easter-day. The editors of printed collections of
PREFACE. xxi
documents, either ignorant of this fact or failing to
keep it in mind, have frequently misplaced the papers
by a whole year. Even when the year may be readily
determined, it is not always easy to indicate the day
on which a paper was written, for papers were often
dated simply by the day of the month (the month
itself not being mentioned), or by the day of the
week, or by the name of a saint who has several days
in the calendar. This causes much confusion ; but in
most instances I hope I have succeeded in placing
correctly the documents from which I have drawn my
information. Of papers about the date of which I
have remained in doubt I have preferred to make
no use.
Even manuscript sources cannot, of course, be
accepted without inquiry. Papers preserved in
Archives of State may in general be considered
genuine ; but in public and private libraries there are
a great many volumes of originals and copies which
are not so free from suspicion. In the case of docu-
ments which profess to be originals, the question of
authenticity is comparatively easily solved, and the
number of forgeries is, I am happy to say, very small.
It is in dealing with papers pretending to be copies
that historians have to be most on their guard. Is
xxii PREFACE.
the paper really a copy of a genuine original ? And,
if so, is it a full and exact copy ? These questions
present themselves nearly every day to the careful
inquirer, and often tax his critical power to the
utmost. For it would, of course, be very rash to
reject the testimony of a paper only because it is a
copy, while it would be dangerous to admit it without
having tested its authenticity by thorough investiga-
tion and comparison. I need not say that in examin-
ing copies which relate to my subject I have done
my best to hold an even balance between extreme
suspicion and misplaced confidence.
Finally, I have to offer some remarks about a very
bad habit adopted by many editors of State papers.
A great part of the documents of Henry VIII.'s time
are written in cipher, with a contemporary decipher
on the margin or on a separate sheet. Editors have
been too ready to assume that such deciphers are
always correct, and to print or abstract them as if
they were the original letters. The secretaries who
had to decipher the despatches were often very care-
less, or they read the cipher so quickly that they did
not think it necessary to note the whole of it on the
margin. The consequence is that those who accept
the contemporary decipher as indubitably correct are
PEEFACE. xxiii
frequently misled, and mislead others in their turn.
Invariably, therefore, when a passage has seemed to
me to be of great importance, or when the decipher
has appeared suspicious, I have re-deciphered the
original letter, and the result has sometimes been
very different from the previously accepted reading.
The fact that I frequently quote from the original
despatch will explain some of the discrepancies
between my quotations and those of Mr. Gairdner
and Mr. de Gayangos.
It would scarcely be possible to give a complete list
of those who have aided me in my inquiries ; but I
cannot conclude without expressing my obligations to
Mr. James Gairdner, Mr. Trice Martin, and Mr. Selby,
at the Eecord Office ; to Mr. A. Pinchart of the
Archives du Royaume at Brussels ; to Mr. C. R
Wegener, the keeper of the Eoyal Archives at
Copenhagen ; to His Excellency Baron von Arneth,
and to Archivar Felgel of the Archives of State at
Vienna ; to the Commendatore Bartolomeo Cecchetti,
director of the Eoyal Archives at Venice ; to Don
Manuel de Goicoichea, keeper of the Archives of the
Academia de Historia at Madrid ; and to Don Pascual
de Gayangos. To these gentlemen my best thanks
are due for the kindness with which they have
xxiv PREFACE.
facilitated my researches or helped me by advice and
information.
My friend Mr. James Sime has done me the favour
to read the proof sheets. By his excellent advice
many passages have been recast, and the whole has
taken a form far superior to the original manuscript.
I am greatly indebted to him for his invaluable
assistance.
PAUL FEIEDMANN.
TABLE OF CONTENTS..
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
PAGE
xxxvii. to Ixxxiv.
INTRODUCTION.
The state of England under Henry VIII
England's weakness at the end of the fifteenth century
Henry VII. tries to improve its condition ....
He is not wholly successful .......
Population of England small
London a third-rate town .......
The English trade insignificant ......
And in great part in the hands of foreigners
Henry VIII.'s revenues at first but £120,000
His subjects no longer good soldiers .....
The English fleet not strong .......
Bat England by its position has great advantages
Opportunities of Henry VIII
Bad education he had received
His good natural qualities not developed ....
Henry's faults very great .......
He is exceedingly vain
Reports of foreign ambassadors about his boasts .
Outward splendour of his court ......
His policy directed towards show rather than real advantage
Henry wants courage and strength of mind ....
He is always led by others .......
His obstinacy no proof of firmness .....
Extreme duplicity of Henry .......
He tries to deceive even himself ......
1
1,2
2
2
2
2,8
, 3,4
4
5
5
6
6
7
7
8
8
9
. 10
11
. 12
13, 14
. 14
. 16
. 16
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
His coarseness towards women' 18
Good natural qualities of Catherine of Aragon . . . .1.8
But she is narrow-minded, violent, and has no tact ... 19
Her foolish behaviour in regard to her confessor . . 20, 21
She hurts Henry's vanity 22
English politicians divided into two parties ..... 22
The lords are rich and have tradition in their favour . . 23, 24
But they are dissatisfied and in opposition 25
This increases their popularity 26
The officials as a party are of recent origin 26
They come from the lower classes. ...... 27
They are extremely corrupt and insolent 28
And in consequence unpopular ....... 21
The peers and the officials are bitter enemies .... 29
Catherine opposes the officials 30
Henry tries to conquer France 30
Small results of his great preparations' 31
He is humiliated by the victory of Flodden . . . . .31
Catherine boasts of her success 32
Henry becomes impatient of her yoke 32
Early life of Thomas Wolsey 32,33
Advantage of being a priest 33
Wolsey's rapid rise 34
And arrogance .......... 35
Catherine's insignificance during Wolsey's reign .... 35
The king displeased at her not having a son .... 36
CHAPTER I.
ANNE AND WOLSET.
Fantastic pedigree of Anne Boleyn ...... 37
Her real descent 38, 39
Anne born in 1502 or 1503 39
The position of her father improves 40
Anne sent to France 41
She returns to England in 1522 42
A marriage with Sir James Butler negotiated ... 42, 43
Mary Boleyn becomes Henry's mistress 43
Sir Thomas Boleyn is created Viscount Rochford .... 43
TABLE OF CONTENTS. xxvii
PAGE
Sir Henry Percy wants to marry Anne 44
The king shows preference for Anne ...... 45
Anne is at first rather reticent 45, 46
Rumours of a contemplated divorce 47
Henry and Wolsey, offended by Charles, side with France . . 48
Way of obtaining a divorce 48
Anne begins to aim at the crown . . . . . . 49
Ability with which she plays her game ..... 49
First steps taken towards a divorce 50
A collusive suit begun . . 50, 51
The bishops secretly consulted ....... 51
Most of them are against a divorce ...... 52
Catherine is warned of Wolsey 's secret proceedings . . 52, 53
Henry tells Catherine of his pretended scruples .... 53
Wolsey commits a blunder by leaving for France ... 54
Anne begins to show her game 54, 55
Wolsey proposes a new plan for obtaining a divorce ... 56
Henry decides to act behind Wolsey'sv.back . . . . 56, 57
Secretary Knight leaves for Rome with a secret mission . . 57
Wolsey in ignorance of Anne's power ...... 58
He returns to England and is made aware of it . . . .59
He dissembles and regains Henry's confidence .... 60
CHAPTER II.
THE LEGATINE COURT.
Anne and Wolsey form an alliance 61
Wolsey discovers the secret of Knight's mission . . . .62
Henry implores Knight not to betray him 63
Knight meets the pope at Orvieto . 64
His blunders . . . .65
The briefs he sends to England are found to be insufficient . . 66
Stephen Gardiner and Edward Foxe sent to Orvieto ... 66
Their instructions drawn up by Wolsey 67
And communicated to Anne ........ 68
Apparent success of the new mission ..... 68, 69
Anne loudly proclaims her gratitude 69
Foxe returns to England ... 70
Is ordered to show Wolsey the papal briefs . . , . .71
xxviii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
Wolsey is not satisfied with them and wants a decretal . . 71
Anne has the sweating sickness and recovers .... 73
Wolsey appoints Isabel Jordan abbess of Wilton .... 74
Henry rebukes the cardinal 75
Wolsey makes a humble apology 76
Anne assures Wolsey of her entire devotion .... 76
Cardinal Campeggio leaves Rome for England .... 77
Clement VII. unjustly blamed ....... 78
His position more difficult than that of his predecessors . . 79
The royal power excessive 80
The national spirit unfavourable to the papacy .... 81
The strife between Charles V. and Francis I. obliges the pope to
make a choice between them 82
Leo X. and Adrian VI. side with the emperor . . .82
Clement goes over to the French 82
And is punished for it by the sack of Rome . . . . .83
He decides on a new policy ........ 83
He hopes to raise enemies against Charles ..... 84
And to force the emperor to seek his alliance .... 85
Clement hampered by his duties to his clergy .... 86
He loses the allegiance of England, but retains that of the
emperor and of the French king 87
CHAPTER III.
THE DEATH OF WOLSEY.
Campeggio is instructed to procrastinate 88
After his departure the French are routed 89
The emperor behaves with great moderation towards the pope 89, 90
Who is favourably inclined towards him ..... 90
Henry is angered by Campeggio's attempt to conciliate . . 90
He wants to obtain possession of the decretal . , . 90, 91
John Casale vainly asks the pope to have it given up . . .91
The queen produces copy of a brief of dispensation ... 92
The reported death of the pope delays the proceedings . . 92
The legatine court is held and prorogued 93
Anne becomes hostile to Wolsey 94
Gardiner made chief secretary by her influence . . . Q* r--~
TABLE OF CONTENTS. xxix
PAGE
Wolsey's fall postponed 95
Campeggio's luggage searched 96
The decretal destroyed .97
Wolsey is dismissed and submits 98
The Lords form a government 99
They summon a new parliament 100
Way in which the members were elected 101
An election at Canterbury 101, 102
The king and Anne inspect York Place 102
Sir Thomas More reads the king's speech to parliament . . 103
Lord Rochford created Earl of Wiltshire . . . . '103
Anne's allies begin to grow lukewarm 104
The emperor and the pope meet at Bologna 105
Lord Wiltshire is sent to persuade them to consent to the divorce 105
He has an audience of Charles V 106
Who refuses to abandon his aunt 106
Lord Wiltshire is served with a citation for Henry . . . 107
The pope grants a delay 108
Henry angry at Wiltshire's failure 108
Attempts made by Wolsey to regain the king's favour . . .109
His pensions from France made over to Henry . . . .110
But the French will no longer pay them 112
Anne alarmed at Wolsey's intrigues . . , . . .113
He is ordered to leave for York 114
He wishes to be helped by Francis . . . . . .114
Henry tries to obtain opinions of universities in his favour . 114, 115
To this end the assistance of Francis indispensable . . 116, 117
The English government therefore most friendly towards France. 117
The Earl of Wiltshire remains as ambassador in France . .118
Several French universities decide in favour of Henry . . .119
Du Bellay comes to England and proposes an immediate marriage 120
The council quarrelling 121
The Duke of Suffolk tries to ruin Anne 121
Wolsey tries to regain his power 122
Neither Chapuis nor the French ambassador will help him . .123
Wolsey's attempt to intrigue with Henry himself fails . . 123
Alarm of Anne and Norfolk 124
Wolsey is arrested . . . . . . . . .125
And dies on his way to London 126
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
THOMAS CROMWELL.
PAGE
Coarse joy of Anne and her relatives at Wolsey's death . .127
Anne takes a new motto . . 128
Is enraged against Catherine , . .129
The coalition which ruined Wolsey breaks up . . .129
Catherine has a serious talk with Henry 130
Growing unpopularity of the divorce . . . . .131
Resistance of the clergy 131
Anne wants Henry to marry her at once 132
She has violent quarrels with him 133
Who complains about her temper 134
Anne finds a new ally in Thomas Cromwell 134
Cromwell proposes to frighten the English clergy into submission 135
The English clergy under Henry VIII 136
Small influence of the parochial priests ..... 136
Friars and monks more influential 137
The higher clergy 137, 138
They serve the king rather than the church 139
On this account the bishops are hated by the lords . . .140
Who at first offer no opposition to Cromwell's scheme . . . 141
But in the end they oppose it 141
A compromise is arrived at unfavourable to Anne . . .142
The Roman court irritated by Cromwell's proceedings . . . 143
The nuncio warns Henry that the cause must be heard . .144
A deputation of the council waits on Catherine . . . . 144
Anne tries to drive her opponents from court . . . .145
And wishes Henry to be separated from Catherine . . 146, 147
The king and queen dine together on Whit Sunday . . . .148
The queen banished from court 149
Anne fills most vacant posts with her adherents .... 150
But they grow lukewarm as soon as they are installed . . .151
The king is afraid of the emperor 152
He concludes a defensive alliance with Francis . . . 153, 154
Attempt made to induce Warham to pronounce a divorce . .155
The peers are sounded whether they will grant a divorce . . 156
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
Henry thinks of marrying Anne without further ceremony . .157
Further proceedings to deprive the clergy of independence . 1 58
Warham protests against these proceedings 159
Intrigue of Lady Northumberland ..... 159, 160
Lord Northumberland denies any pre-contract with Anne . .160
Death of Archbishop Warham 161
CHAPTER V.
THE MARRIAGE.
Anne created Marchioness of Pembroke . . . . .162
Probable reason of this strange step . . . . .163
An interview between Henry and Francis arranged . . . 164
Anne invited to accompany Henry 165
Marguerite of Navarre will not meet her 167
The English nobles disapprove of the approaching interview . 168
The king and Anne cross the Channel 169
Henry goes to Boulogne . . . . . . . .170
Francis comes to Calais 171
Anne and Francis friendly to one another 172
Measures for Henry's benefit agreed upon . . . . 172, 173
Henry encouraged by the courteous speeches of Francis . .174
Anne obtains the See of Canterbury for Cranmer . . . .174
Cranmer' s former career ....... 174, 175
His talents and ability . . . . . . . . .176
His secret marriage . . . . . . . . .177
Henry's hold over him 177, 178
The English ambassadors ask for the bulls for Cranmer . .178
Chapuis protests in vain that Cranmer is a dangerous person . 1 79
The papal nuncio is gained over by Henry 179
Who shows himself ready for a compromise . . . .180
Clement VII. believes his ambassador ...... 181
And grants the bulls 182
Henry and Anne are secretly married 183
Probably by George Brown, prior of Austin Friars . . 183.184
The nuncio present at the opening of parliament . . . .184
This misleads the opposition . . . . . . . 185
Position of Sir Thomas More . . . 185
He is obliged to resign 186
Cromwell allowed to fill the vacant offices ..... 186
xxxii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
Sir Thomas Audley made Lord Chancellor ..... 187
Lord Wiltshire speaks to Lord Rutland about the divorce . 187, 188
Propositions submitted to the bishops ...... 188
Anne speaks of her pregnancy .... . 189
The nuncio begins to suspect that he has been duped . . . 190
But Clement relies on the proposed meeting with Francis . .191
And does not proceed against Henry ...... 192
Lord Rochford sent to tell Francis of the marriage . . . 192
Henry's requests not granted 193
Jean du Bellay blames Rochford 193, 194
The public mind to be prepared for the marriage . . . .194
The papal authority attacked 195
After a struggle the House of Commons yields . . . .195
Convocation is called upon to give an opinion . . . .196
And decides in favour of the divorce 197
Bishop Fisher protests and is arrested 197
Chapuis expostulates with Henry ....... 198
A royal commission tells Catherine that Henry has married Anne 198
Anne appears as queen . , 199
CHAPTER VI.
THE CORONATION.
The prior of Austin Friars prays for Anne 200
She is to be prayed for as queen in all parishes .... 201
Cranmer asks Henry's permission to open a court . . . 201
Henry grants it after humiliating Cranmer ..... 202
Catherine is cited to appear and protest before a notary . . 203
The nuncio is afraid to act ....... 203, 2C4
Cranmer gives judgment against Catherine . . . . . 204
Anne comes to the Tower 204, 205
Preparations made in the city for her passage .... 205
Anne leaves the Tower for Westminster .... 205, 206
Insult offered to her by the Easterlings 207
Unpleasant augury at Leadenhall 208
Anne is crowned 208
Catherine and Mary are cheered wherever they pass . . . 209
Further annoyance by the Easterlings 209
Anne becomes uneasy at the coldness of Francis I. . . .210
Dinteville objects to Cranmer holding a court . . . .211
TABLE OF CONTENTS. xxxiii
PAGE
Cromwell sides with Anne ......... 212
The partisans of France begin to oppose her . . . .212
Henry begins to grow indifferent to Anne ..... 213
But shows her some attention on account of the expected Prince
of Wales 214
Clement VII. violently angry at the statute of appeals . . 214
The French cardinals, trying to calm the pope, displease Henry . 215
The cause goes on at Rome . . . . . . . .215
Henry appeals to a general council . . . . . .216
Norfolk sent to France as ambassador ...... 217
He is to dissuade Francis from meeting the pope . . . 217, 218
He sees Marguerite of Navarre ....... 218
And meets Francis at Riom . . 219
Norfolk goes to Lyons 219
Where he receives the news that Clement has given sentence . 220
Plan proposed by Cardinal Tournon . . . . . 220, 221
The news of Cranmer's sentence irritates the pope . . . 221
Clement proposes to Cyfuentes several measures against Henry . 222
The proceedings of Cranmer are annulled ..... 223
Norfolk wants to return to England 224
But is prevailed upon merely to send Rochford .... 225
Henry decides to take a line of his own .... 225, 226
Norfolk proceeds to Montpellier to meet Francis .... 226
Norfolk returns to England . . . . . . . .227
Gardiner is sent to France 227
Bonner is directed to intimate Henry's appeal to the pope . . 228
CHAPTER VII.
•MARCUS MEYER.
Henry expects a son 229
Suffolk married to Catherine Willoughby 229
Elizabeth is bom . . . 230
Vexation of Henry 230
Annoyed by the joy of his subjects ...... 230
Cromwell wants Mary to be declared legitimate . . . .231
Chapuis tries to gain him over . . . . . .231, 232
Norfolk and Elizabeth Holland 233
Lord Abergavenny declares himself an imperialist . . . 233
Bishop Fisher sends a message to Chapuis 234
VOL. I. C
xxxiv TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PACK
Reginald Pole recommended to the ambassador .... 234
Francis in a dilemma 235
Anne is a strong Protestant 235
Elizabeth is christened . . . . . . . .236
Anne is favoured by chance . . . . . . . . 236
Luebeck's position in the middle ages . . . v . . . 237
It loses its supremacy ......... 237
Its wars with Christian II. of Denmark ..... 238
Christian II. made a prisoner 239
Luebeck sends out a fleet against Holland 239
Its captain, Marcus Meyer, is arrested at Rye .... 240
He is brought to London and examined 241
Former career of Meyer . 241
Meyer offers to Henry the alliance of Luebeck . . . 241, 242
Henry is fascinated by -Meyer's proposals 242
Henry regains courage . . . 243
Brother Laurence gives information against his brethren . . 243
The nun of Kent is examined by Cramner 244
She and her advisers are arrested 245
Lists of her accomplices are made 245
The nun stands at St. Paul's Cross 246
Attempt to frighten the opposition 246
Clement meets Francis at Marseilles . . . . . 247
The negotiations begin . • . . . . . . . . 247
Gardiner is impatient and writes to Henry .... 247, 248
A disputation is held about the divorce cause .... 248
Difficulties of the case 248, 249
Clement is ready to have the case heard at Avignon . . . 249
Gardiner declares that he has no powers ..... 249
He consents to ask Henry to accept the compromise . . . 250
Henry is angry at the moderation of Francis .... 250
And decides to refuse Gardiner's request . . . . .251
New instructions sent to the ambassadors at Marseilles . 251, 252
The English ambassadors decide to intimate Henry's appeal . 252
They tell Francis of their intention 253
Bonner reads the appeal to the pope 253
Clement complains to Francis ....... 254
Who does not want to make an enemy of Henry . . . . 255
But names Calais as the price for his help 256
Francis upbraids the English ambassadors 256
Clement rejects Henry's appeal and leaves Marseilles . . . 257
Cyfuentes does not listen to the French proposals . . . 257
TABLE OF CONTENTS. xxxv
PAGE
Dinteville has a parting audience with Henry . , . . 258
Anger of Dinteville ..... .... 259
Henry is greatly displeased with the French .... 260
Je m du Bellay comes to England 2G1
And prevails on Henry to postpone measures against the
pope . . 261,262
CHAPTER VIII.
THE PAPAL SENTENCE.
Henry prepares for the struggle with Rome 264
A declaration of the validity of his marriage with Anne
submitted to the rclergy for signature .... 264,265
Mary is taken to Hatfield ... 266
Is encouraged by Dr. Fox to resist ...... 267
Is placed under Lady Shelton's guard 268
Henry tries to break her spirit 268
He is moved by Mary's appeal 269
Anne upbraids him for his weakness ...... 270
Henry threatens Lord Exeter 271
Lady Shelton ordered to treat Mary more harshly . . . 272
The confession of the nun of Kent is to be used .... 273
A bill of attainder is prepared ....... 273
It is intended to frighten the opposition ..... 274
Du Bellay confers with Francis and Montmorency . . , 274
A plan arranged to gain the pope 275
Du Bellay before the cardinals 276
He has a sharp encounter with Dr. Ortiz .... 276, 277
He takes a false estimate of Clement's ability .... 277
He is on bad terms with the papal court 278
And is overreached by the pope 279
Who is eager to proceed against Henry 279
The reports on the cause are prepared 280
Du Bellay writes in a hopeful strain to France and England 280, 281
The government meets with difficulties in parliament . . . 282
Latimer preaches in favour of papal authority .... 283
Anne sends Mary a message 284
Mary remains steadfast . . . 284
Henry begins to become indifferent to Anne .... 284, 285
c 2
xxxvi TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
He receives Castillon's proposals very well . . . . 285
Cromwell is unfavourable to them ...... 286
Castillon cannot convince the council ..... 286, 287
But Henry promises to wait till after Easter ..... 288
Du Bellay has been busy at Rome 289
He writes to Castillon . . . . . . . . . 289
Assures him that the pope is quite favourable to Henry . 299, 291
And that Henry is sure to gain his cause . . . . .291
Montmorency greatly pleased with du Bellay . . . 292, 293
Castillon submits to Henry a garbled version of du Bellay's letter 294
Henry is in a less conciliatory temper ..... 294, 295
Castillon receives new instructions 295
Henry refuses the marriage of Mary with Alexander dei Medici . 296
The peers ask to be allowed to hear Sir Thomas More . . . 297
His name struck out of the bill of attainder ..... 297
The opposition of parliament is overcome . . 298
Du Bellay finds the pope well informed ..... 298
The divorce case discussed in consistory 299
Du Bellay feels confident of success ...... 300
Henry, better informed, knows that his case is hopeless . . 301
The French cardinals stay away . . . „ . . . 302
The consistory is held on the 23rd of March . . , , 303
Cardinal Trivulzio tries to delay the sentence , 303
Catherine's marriage declared valid 303, 304
Du Bellay receives a letter from Castillon 304
He tells Cyfuentes that Henry is ready to submit .... 305
This statement untrue 306, 307
Henry proceeds against Rome 307
Carne and Revett sent as excusators . . , 307
Parliament prorogued before Easter ...... 308
Henry writes to Wallop that he never intended to submit .- . 308
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1485, December 15.
1491, June 28 . .
1501, October 2 . .
November 14.
1502, April 2 . . .
June 23
December 26.
1502 or 1503 . .
1505, June 28 . .
1509, April 21 .
June 3 .
1511
1512
1514, October —
Catherine of Aragon is born.
Henry, son of Henry VII., is born.
Catherine of Aragon arrives at South-
ampton.
Wedding of Arthur, Prince of Wales,
and Catherine of Aragon at St. Paul's.
Prince Arthur dies.
A treaty concluded for the marriage of
Henry, Prince of Wales, and Cathe-
rine of Aragon.
Professed date for the bull of dispensa-
tion for the marriage of Henry and
Catherine.
Anne Boleyn is born.
Henry, Prince of Wales, protests against
the treaty of marriage with Catherine.
Henry VII. dies.
Wedding of Henry VIII. and Catherine
of Aragon.
Sir Thomas Boleyn and Sir Henry
Wyatt made governors of Norwich
Castle.
Sir Thomas Boleyn sent as ambassador
to the Low Countries.
Anne Boleyn accompanies Mary Tudor
to France.
xxxvm
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1516, February 18
1518, October 1 .
1521, February
1522, January
April 24
April 29
May 29 . . .
June 19 . .
August 30 . .
October 14 . .
1523, September C .
September 19.
November 19.
December 14.
1524, April— . .
July—. . .
September 28.
1525, February 11 .
Princess Mary born.
A treaty concluded for the marriage of
Francis, dauphin of Viennois, and the
Princess Mary.
Mary Boleyn married to William Carey.
Anne Boleyn returns to England.
Sir Thomas Boleyn is made treasurer
of the household.
Sir Thomas Boleyn is made steward of
Tunbridge, receiver of Bransted, and
keeper of Penshurst.
An English herald brings to Francis I.
a declaration of war.
A treaty of alliance is signed at Wind-
sor by Charles V. and Henry VIII.
Charles is to many the Princess Mary.
An English army under the Earl of
Surrey invades France.
The English army returns to Calais.
A treaty is concluded between Henry
VIII. and the Constable of Bourbon.
An English army under the Duke of
Suffolk enters France.
Cardinal dei Medici is elected Pope ; he
calls himself Clement VII.
The Duke of Suffolk returns to
Calais.
Jean Brinon is sent by Louise of Savoy
on a secret mission to England.
An Imperial army under the Constable
of Bourbon enters Provence.
Bourbon abandons the siege of Mar-
seilles.
A courier sent by Praet stopped in
England, his despatches opened by
Wolsey.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
XXXIX
1525, February 24 .
June 18 . .
August 30 .
October 16 .
November 2 .
November 13.
1526, January 14 .
February — .
March 10 .,
March 18 . ,
May 26 . . .
June 12
June — . .
July 24 . . ,
August 8 . ,
August 15 . ,
Battle of Pavia; Francis I. is made
prisoner.
Sir Thomas Boleyn is created Viscount
Rochford.
Treaty of peace with France concluded
at the More.
Girolamo Morone arrested by Antonio
de Leyva.
An imperial army under the Marquis
of Pescara enters Milan.
Francesco Sforza besieged by Pescara
in the Castle of Milan.
Treaty of peace between Charles V. and
Francis I. concluded at Madrid.
A defensive league concluded by the
Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave
of Hesse at Gotha.
Charles V. is married to Isabella of
Portugal.
Francis I. regains his liberty; his
children go as hostages to Spain.
Francis I., at Cognac, forms with the
pope and several Italian princes a
league against the emperor.
The German Protestant princes meet
at Magdeburg, and join the league
between the Elector of Saxony and
the Landgrave.
The imperial diet opens at Speyer.
The Castle of Milan is surrendered to
the imperial commanders.
A treaty of alliance against Charles V.
is signed at Hampton Court by
French and English ministers.
Clement VII. names Henry VIII.
protector of the Italian League.
xl
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1526, August 29 . .
September 20.
September 21.
October 23 .
November — .
November 11.
December 4 ,
December 26.
1527, February 6 .
February 26 .
March 5 . .
March 29 . .
April 30 . .
May 5 . . .
May 6 . . .
Battle of Mohacz between Turks and
Hungarians. King Lewis of Hun-
gary is killed.
Ugo de Moncada and the Colonna enter
Rome and sack the Vatican.
Clement VII. concludes a truce with
Ugo de Moncada.
Ferdinand of Austria is elected King of
Bohemia.
Ferdinand of Austria is elected King of
Hungary at Pressburg.
John Zapolyi, Count of Zips, is elected
and crowned King of Hungary at
Stuhlweissenburg.
Ferdinand of Austria elected Duke of
Silesia.
Don Ifiigo de Mendoza arrives in Eng-
land as resident imperial ambassador.
Sir John Russell arrives at Rome with
subsidies for the pope.
Gabriel de Gramont, Turenne, le Viste,
and Dodieu, arrive in England as
ambassadors of Francis to negotiate
the marriage of Princess Mary.
The French ambassadors are received
by Henry.
A further truce agreed upon between
the pope and the Viceroy of Naples.
A treaty between Francis I. and Henry
VIII. is signed at Westminster;
Mary is to marry either Francis I. or
his second son.
Henry VIII. ratifies the treaty of
Westminster.
Rome is taken and sacked by the
imperial army. Bourbon is killed.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
xli
1527, May 8 . . .
May 17 . . .
May 18 ...
May 20 . . .
May 21 ...
May 29 ...
May 31 ...
June 5 ...
June 22. . .
July 3 . - .
July 4 ...
July 11 . . .
July 29 .
July 31 . . .
August 4 . .
August 18 . .
August 20 . .
September — .
September 10.
September 17.
The French ambassadors leave London.
A collusive suit for the divorce of
Catherine begins at Westminster,
before Wolsey and Warham.
The imperial ambassador is secretly in-
formed of the proceedings of Wolsey
and Warham.
Second sitting of the court at West-
minster.
Philip of Spain born at Valladolid.
A supplementary treaty between France
and England signed at Westminster.
Third sitting of the court at Westmin-
ster; it is decided to consult some
English bishops. .
The Castle of St. Angelo is surrendered
to the imperial army. The pope
becomes a prisoner.
Henry speaks with Catherine about his
proposal to divorce her.
Wolsey leaves Westminster for France.
Wolsey speaks with Bishop Fisher about
the divorce.
Wolsey crosses to Calais.
Wolsey proposes a new way of obtain-
ing a divorce.
Ferdinand of Austria enters Hungary.
Wolsey meets Francis at Amiens.
A treaty of alliance is signed by Francis
and Wolsey at Amiens. The French
take Genoa.
Ferdinand of Austria enters Ofen.
Secretary Knight is sent on a secret
mission to Rome.
Knight meets Wolsey at Compiegne,
Wolsey leaves Compiegne for England.
xlii
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1527, September 24.
September 30.
October 2 . .
October 14 .
October 18 .
October 20 .
November 3 .
November 4 .
November 11.
November 14.
November 15.
November 24.
November 26.
December 6 .
December 7 .
December 16?
December 18?
December 22?
December 23.
December —
1528, January 2 ,
January 9
Wolsey lands at Dover.
Wolsey is received by Henry in the
hall.
Montmorency, Brinon, and Humieres
are sent as ambassadors to England.
A French army under Lautrec takes
Pavia.
The French ambassadors land at Dover.
Lautrec passes the Po.
The French ambassadors arrive at
London.
Ferdinand of Austria crowned King of
Hungary at Stuhlweissenburg.
Knight reports from Foligno.
The French ambassadors leave London.
Jean du Bellay arrives at London as
resident French ambassador.
Montmorency, Brinon, and Humieres
arrive at Calais.
Secretary Knight reaches Rome.
The pope concludes a treaty with the
imperial captains for his liberation.
The imperial troops leave the Castle of
St. Angelo.
The pope leaves Rome for Orvieto.
Secretary Knight has an audience of
the pope.
Knight leaves Orvieto for England.
Knight returns to Orvieto.
The pope grants a dispensation for
Henry VIII. to marry within pro-
hibited degrees.
A commission to try the divorce case
granted by the pope.
Knight leaves Orvieto a second time.
Knight stops at Asti.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
xliii
1528, January 10
January 22
February 6
February 10
February 11
March 20 .
March 23 .
March 27 .
April 3 .
April 8
April 21
April 24
April 28
May 1
May 3
May 4
May 10
May 21
The French army under Lautrec leaves
Bologna.
French and English heralds read to
Charles Y. a declaration of war.
Lautrec arrives at Fermo.
The imperial ambassador is arrested at
London.
Lautrec enters the kingdom of Naples.
Gardiner and Foxe are sent to Rome.
Gardiner and Foxe arrive at Orvieto.
The French army takes Melfi.
Gambara arrives at Orvieto.
A disputation held before the pope and
Cardinals Monte and Sanctorum
Quatuor.
Gardiner threatens the pope; who
grants a commission to Campeggio
and Wolsey to try the divorce
case.
Lautrec invests Naples.
The Abbess of Wilton dies.
A sea fight at Salerno. The imperial
fleet is beaten. Ugo de Moncada is
killed.
Foxe arrives in England with the
commission to Wolsey and Cam-
peggio.
Foxe is received by Henry and by Anne
at Greenwich.
A German army under Duke Henry of
Brunswick enters Italy.
Wolsey declares himself satisfied with
the commission granted by the pope-
Wolsey writes to Rome to obtain a
decretal defining the law.
Riots in Kent.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1528, June 8 .
June 15 .
June 16 .
June 17
June —
June —
June —
June 22
July 14
June 15
June 19
June 20
June 23
June 25 .
August 16
August 21
August 24
August 28
August 30
The commission to Wolsey and Cam-
peggio is made out.
A truce of eight months is concluded
at Hampton Court between England,
France, and the Low Countries.
A servant of Anne Boleyn falls ill of
the sweating sickness. She is sent to
Kent. Henry leaves for Waltham.
Gardiner leaves Viterbo for Venice.
Anne Boleyn falls ill of the sweating
sickness.
Henry VIII. goes to Hunsdon.
Anne Boleyn recovers.
William Carey dies.
Henry writes to Wolsey, strongly re-
primanding him for having appointed
Isabel Jordan the Abbess of Wilton.
Wolsey humbly submits.
Andrea Doria goes over with his galleys
to the emperor.
Muxetula protests in Catherine's name
against the legatine court being held
in England.
The pope promises never to revoke
the powers given to Wolsey and
Campeggio.
Campeggio embarks at Corneto.
Lautrec dies of the plague before
Naples.
Sir Francis Bryan sent to France to
receive Campeggio.
Reformation established at Zuerich.
The siege of Naples is raised ; the
French army routed.
Aversa is surrendered to the Im-
perialists.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
xlv
1528, September 6
September 8 .
September 12.
September 14,
September 18.
September 25.
September 26.
September 29,
October 6 .
October 8 ,
October —
October 13
October 22
October 23
October 24
October 25
October 26
October 27
October 28
Clement VII. tells Sanga that he in-
tends to make peace with the emperor.
He receives from the imperial agents
the tribute for the kingdom of Naples.
Campeggio arrives at Orleans.
Antoniotto Adorno, Duke of Genoa,
dies at Milan.
Andrea Doria drives the French out of
Genoa.
Campeggio makes his entry into Paris.
The French under St. Pol take Pavia.
Campeggio leaves Paris.
John Zapolyi accredits Jerome Lasky
as ambassador to Henry VIII.
George Boleyn made Squire of the
Body to the King.
Campeggio lands at Dover.
Clement VII. returns to Home.
Campeggio arrives at London.
Catherine produces a copy of the brief
of dispensation.
Catherine promises to do her best to
obtain the original brief of dispen-
sation.
Campeggio is received by Henry VIII.
Henry calls on Campeggio and disputes
with him.
Campeggio and Wolsey call on
Catherine.
Campeggio confers with Bishop Fisher.
Catherine confesses to Campeggio.
The French garrison of the castle of
Genoa capitulates.
Campeggio and Wolsey call on Catherine.
Savona surrendered by the French to
Andrea Doria.
xlvi
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1528, November 1.
November 3.
November 8.
November 11.
November 15.
November 17.
November 23.
November 28.
December —
December 14.
December 15.
December 17.
December 19.
December 29.
15 29, January 6
January 9
Wolsey instructs Casale to ask tliat
Campeggio be ordered to give up the
decretal.
The castle of Genoa is surrendered by
the French.
Henry VIII. explains to the Mayor and
citizens of London his reasons for
desiring a divorce.
An agent of the Earl of Desmond
submits to Charles V. a proposal for
a league.
Isabel Jordan is installed Abbess of
Wilton.
Margaret of Savoy appoints three
lawyers to advise Catherine.
The imperial ambassador secretly visits
Catherine.
Sir Francis Bryan and Peter Vannes
are accredited as ambassadors to the
pope.
Clement VII. refuses to order Cam-
peggio to give up the decretal.
A truce for five years is concluded with
the Scotch.
Clement VII. sends Francesco Campana
to England.
Lodovico Falier, Venetian ambassador,
arrives at London.
The French vainly try to surprise
Genoa.
Bryan and Vannes meet Campana and
Vincenzo da Casale at Chambery.
The pope falls ill.
Bryan and Vannes arrive at Bologna.
Catherine sends to Spain for the original
brief of dispensation.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
xlvii
1529, January 13
January 21
January 30
February 1
February 4
February 6
February 15
February 21
February 24
February 28
March 8 .
March 9 .
March 15 .
March 17 .
April —
April 2 .
April 3 .
April 12 .
April 19 .
Campana arrives in England.
Gardiner leaves England for Eome.
Gardiner joins W. Bennet at Lyons.
George Boleyn made Steward of
Beaulieu.
J. du Bellay leaves England for Rome.
Instructions sent to Rome to obtain
the election of Wolsey or Campeggio
to papacy.
Gardiner arrives at Rome.
The imperial diet assembles at Speyer.
Gon9alo Fernandez appointed ambas-
sador to Ireland.
The Prince of Orange takes La Matrice.
G. Fernandez leaves Toledo for Ireland.
G. du Bellay is sent by Francis to
England.
The imperial commissioners at the diet
of Speyer propose articles unfavour-
able to the Lutherans.
Clement VII. declares formally that he
intends to visit Charles V. in Spain.
Ostiaand CivitaVecchia are surrendered
to the pope.
Antonio Rincon is sent as ambassador
to John Zapolyi.
Ghinucci and Lee have audience of the
emperor. At their request the brief
of dispensation is shown to them.
The Saxon minister, Minkwitz, protests
at Speyer against the articles proposed
by the imperial commissioners.
At Speyer King Ferdinand of Hungary
declares the articles accepted. The
Lutheran princes formally protest
against them.
xlviii CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1529, April 21 . . The pope refuses to declare the brief of
dispensation a forgery.
April 22 . . The protesting princes and towns decide
to form a league for mutual defence.
April 24 . . The diet at Speyer is closed.
April 25 . . A notarial act is signed by the Lutheran
princes, henceforward called the
Protestants.
April 27 . . Miguel May, imperial ambassador,
and Andrea del Burgo, Hungarian
ambassador, formally call upon the
pope to revoke the power given to
Wolsey and Campeggio.
April 28 . . G. Fernandez takes leave of the Earl
of Desmond.
May 4 ... Sultan Solyman II. starts from Constan-
tinople for the invasion of Hungary.
May 13 . . J. du Bellay returns to England.
May — . . Suffolk and Fitzwilliam are sent to
Francis I.
May 18 . . Suffolk and Fitzwilliam have a con-
ference with du Bellay.
May 19 . . Don Inigo de Mendoza is allowed to
leave England.
May 20 . . Henry VIII. accredits W. Bennet as
ambassador at the papal court.
May 26 . . F. Campana leaves London to return
to Italy.
May 30 . . Henry grants licence to Campeggio and
Wolsey to hear and proceed in the
divorce cause.
May 31 . . Campeggio and Wolsey open the court
at Westminster.
June 1 . . Henry and Catherine have citations
served upon them to appear before
the legates.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
xlix
1529, June 3 . . Don Ifiigo de Mendoza leaves Calais
for Flanders.
June — . . Suffolk has a secret conversation with
Francis I.
June 8 . . Conference of Protestants at Rotach.
Andrea Doria leaves Genoa with his
galleys to fetch the emperor.
June 9 . . Fitzwilliam returns from France.
June 12 . . Francis empowers Louise of Savoy
to treat of peace with Margaret of
Savoy.
June 15 . . Catherine visits Campeggio.
June 16 . . At Baynard's Castle Catherine appeals
from the legates to the pope, and pro-
tests against any act passed by them.
June 18 . . The divorce court sits; Catherine appears
and enters her protest.
June — . . Fitzwilliam returns to Compiegne.
June 21 . . The pope has a relapse.
The divorce court sits ; Catherine's
appeal is rejected.
Battle of Landriano. St. Pol is totally
routed and taken prisoner.
June 22 . . Gardiner and Bryan arrive in England
from Rome.
June 26 . . Catherine is cited once more to appear.
June 28 . . The divorce court sits. Bishop Fisher
speaks in favour of Catherine.
June 29 . . A treaty of peace and amity between
the pope and the emperor is signed
at Barcelona.
June 30 . . Commission to Tunstall, Knight, More,
and Hackett to treat of peace with
Margaret and with Louise of Savoy.
July 6 ... Margaret and Louise of Savoy meet at
Cambray.
VOL. I. d
1 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1529, July 13 . . At the request of the imperial agents
the pope decides that the commission
of Campeggio and Wolsey is to be
revoked.
July 17 . . The commission is revoked by the pope.
July 22 . . The revocation is published at Rome.
July 23 . . Campeggio prorogues the legatine
court.
July 25 . . Sir Francis Bryan arrives at the French
court.
July 27 . . Charles V. embarks at Barcelona.
July 28 . . Gardiner becomes chief secretary to the
king.
July — . . Campeggio protests that he has no
understanding with Catherine.
August - . Campeggio signs a promise to favour
Henry.
August 5 . . A treaty of peace between Charles V.,
Francis I., and Henry VIII. is con-
cluded at Cambray.
August 8 . . Francis agrees to pay Henry the sums
due to him from the emperor.
August 9 . . Writs made out for a new parliament.
August 12 . Charles V. lands at Genoa.
August 29 . The pope suspends the divorce cause
for three months.
September 1. It is announced that the cause is to be
transferred to Borne.
September 5. The brief of citation is handed to
Campeggio.
September 10. G. du Bellay leaves England.
September 19. Campeggio has a farewell audience
of Henry VIII. at Grafton. Wolsey
sees Henry for the last time.
September 24. Eustache Chapuis is accredited as
imperial ambassador to England.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
li
1529, September 26.
September 29.
October 2 . .
October 4 .
October 5 .
October 6 .
October 7 .
October 8 .
October 9 .
October 14
October 17
October 22
October 24
October 25
October 26
October 27
October 30
October 31
Solyman II. appears before Vienna.
The Protestant divines meet at Marburg.
Sir Nicolas Carew and Dr. Sampson
sent as ambassadors to the emperor.
The pope sends Paul da Casale to ask
Henry to contribute towards the war
against the Turks.
Henry VIII. accredits Ghinucci as
ambassador at the papal court. Cam-
peggio leaves London.
Chapuis has his first audience of Wolsey
and the council.
Campeggio reaches Canterbury.
G. Boleyn is appointed ambassador in
France. The luggage of Campeggio
is seized and searched at Dover.
Christopher Hales frames an indictment
against Wolsey. Wolsey is allowed
to appoint two attorneys.
Great assault of the Turks repelled by
the Viennese.
A last unsuccessful assault on Vienna by
the Turks ; during the night Solyman
retires.
Wolsey is deprived of the seals.
Wolsey pleads guilty to prsemunire.
Clement VII. enters Bologna. Henry
and Anne inspect York Place.
Sir Thomas More is appointed lord
chancellor.
Campeggio leaves Dover for Calais.
Wolsey appoints two attorneys.
Wolsey is condemned in the King's
Bench for prsemunire.
Conferences of Protestant princes and
divines held at Schmalkalden.
d 2
lii
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1529, November 2.
November 3.
November 4.
November 5.
November 8.
November 18.
November 28.
November 30.
December 8.
December 9.
December 17.
December 23.
December 24.
December 25.
1530, January 12
January 13 ,
January 14
January 21
January 24
January 29
Henry comes from Greenwich to York
Place.
Parliament opens.
Campeggio reaches Paris.
Clement VIE. and Charles V. meet at
Bologna.
Convocation meets.
Letters of protection are granted to
Wolsey.
Henry VIII. swears to the Treaty of
Cambray.
Instructions sent to Carew, Sampson,
and Bennet.
Lord Rochford is created Earl of Wilt-
shire and of Ormond. Charles V.
swears to the treaty of peace with
England.
A banquet given at court. Anne takes
the place of the queen.
Parliament is prorogued.
Charles V. concludes a treaty of peace
with Sforza and with Venice.
Catherine speaks to Henry, who denies
that Anne Boleyn is his mistress.
Wolsey falls seriously ill.
A ball at court in honour of du
Bellay.
Chapuis has audience, and is told that
Wiltshire and Stokesley are to go to
Bologna.
J. du Bellay leaves London.
Wiltshire is accredited to Charles V.
Wiltshire is made keeper of the privy
seal.
Francis I. sends G. du Bellay and
J. J. de Vaulx to England.
CHKONOLOGICAL TABLE.
liii
1530, February 4
February 5
February 8
February 12
February 14
February 16
February 17
February 21
February 22
Feburary 24
Feburary 27
March 7 .
March 9
March 14 .
March 17 .
March 21 .
March 22 .
March 23 .
Tunstall gets the custody of the tem-
poralities of Durham.
G. du Bellay and de Vaulx received
by Henry VIII.
Sir N. Carew leaves Bologna.
Wolsey's pardon is made out. Henry
leaves Hampton Court for London.
Wolsey restored to the temporalities of
York.
G. Boleyn, Lord Eochford, returns from
France.
Wolsey resigns his preferments, with the
exception of York.
Sir F. Bryan accredited as ambassador
to France.
Tunstall's bulls for the see of Durham
made out.
Charles V. is crowned King of Lombardy
by the pope.
Charles V. is crowned emperor by the
pope.
The University of Cambridge agrees
to refer the question of the divorce
to a committee.
Clement VII. forbids Henry to contract
a new marriage lite pendente.
The Committee of the University of
Cambridge gives a decision in favour
of the divorce.
Wiltshire arrives at Bologna.
Wiltshire's proposals are rejected by
Charles V.
A brief made out ordering that no one
shall meddle with the divorce.
Charles V. leaves Bologna.
Wiltshire has an audience of the pope.
liv CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1530, March 25 . . Charles V. enters Mantua. He agrees
that the divorce cause shall be sus-
pended till September.
April 3 ... Wiltshire arrives at Milan.
April 4 ... The University of Oxford refers the
question about the divorce to a
committee.
April 5 ... The University of Orleans gives an
opinion in favour of the divorce.
April — . . Wolsey leaves for York.
April 8 ... The Committee at Oxford decides in
favour of the divorce.
April 23 . . The University of Poitiers gives an
opinion against the divorce.
April 24 . . Wiltshire arrives at Lyons.
April 26 . . Parliament prorogued to the 22nd cf
June.
April 30 . . Francis I. orders the University of
Angers to give an opinion about the
divorce.
May — ... Henry rides out, Anne sitting on the
pillion of his horse.
May — . . . Catherine and Mary stay together at
Windsor.
May 7 ... The University of Angers decides
against the divorce.
May 21 . . . Clement VII. issues a brief for-
bidding the expression of opinion
in the matter of the divorce for
bribes or from other unworthy
motives.
May 24 . . . The faculty of canon law of Paris
gives an opinion in favour of the
divorce.
June 6 ... Sir Nicholas Harvy leaves England
for the imperial Court.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
lv
1530, June 10 . . The Universities of Bourges and of
Bologna give opinions favourable to
the divorce.
June 14 . . Catherine's proctors at Rome apply for
process. They are refused.
June 15 . . Charles V. enters Augsburg. Wiltshire
at Paris.
June 20 . . The Imperial Diet of Augsburg begins.
June 22 . . Parliament prorogued to October.
June 25 . . The Protestants read their confession
of faith to the Diet.
June 30 . . The saying of mass is forbidden at
Luebeck.
July 1 ... The sons of Francis I. return to France.
The University of Padua decides in
favour of the divorce.
July 2 ... A part of the faculty of theology of
Paris decides in favour of the divorce.
July 7 ... Henry visits his daughter.
July 8 ... N. Harvy arrives at Augsburg.
July 13 ... A letter to the pope is submitted to the
principal lords of England.
July 14 . . . The temporalities of London restored
to Stokesley.
July 19 . . . Wiltshire arrives at Ortonnay.
August 4 . . The University of Alcala decides against
the divorce.
Papal Encyclical forbidding all persons
to write against their conscience in
matters touching the divorce.
August 8 . . Francis empowers J. du Bellay and de
Vaulx to conclude a new league with
Henry.
August 12 . Florence surrenders to the imperial
army. Alessandro dei Medici be-
comes duke.
Ivi
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1530, August 13 .
August 16
August 17
September 8 .
September 12
September —
September 19
September 21
September 24
October 1 . .
October 5 . .
October 11 .
October 13 .
October 26 .
November 1 .
November 4 .
November 6 .
November 8 .
November 19.
November 23.
Charles V. empowers Chapuis to act on
behalf of Catherine.
Conference about the confession of
faith begins at Augsburg.
J. du Bellay arrives at London.
The nuncio, Baron de Burgo, arrives at
London.
Proclamation against obtaining bulls
from Rome.
Clement VII. speaks about a dispensa-
tion for bigamy.
The University of Salamanca decides
against the divorce.
The University of Alcala decides against
the divorce.
The University of Ferrara decides in
favour of the divorce.
The University of Toulouse decides in
favour of the divorce.
Sir Francis Bryan is accredited as
ambassador \vith Francis I. John
Wellisbourne is recalled.
A supersedeas is granted to Wolsey
respecting his colleges.
The constitution of Luebeck is altered
in a democratic sense.
Pomeranus arrives at Luebeck.
Walter Walsh is sent to York with an
order to arrest Wolsey.
Wolsey is arrested at Cawood.
Wolsey is taken to Pomfret.
Wolsey arrives at Sheffield Park.
The Imperial Diet at Augsburg
closes.
Wolsey leaves Sheffield Park under the
guard of Kingston.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
Ivii
1530, November 25.
November 26.
November 29.
November 30.
December 6 .
December 19.
December 22.
December 24.
December 25.
December 31.
December — .
1531, January 5 . .
January 7 .
January 10
January 12
January 13
January 16
A consistory is held about the con-
cessions made to the Protestants.
Wolsey arrives at Leicester Abbey.
Death of Wolsey.
Margaret of Savoy dies.
Henry writes to Clement VII. com-
plaining of injuries done to him.
The auditor Capisuccio cites Henry to
appear at the Rota.
The Protestant princes meet at Schmal-
kalden.
The Protestant princes protest against
the intended election of Ferdinand
as King of the Romans.
M. de la Guiche arrives as ambassador
in England.
The Protestant princes at Schmalkalden
separate.
Mary of Hungary is named Governor
of the Low Countries.
Brief directing Capisuccio to go on
with the cause.
Brief forbidding Henry to marry lite
pendente, and forbidding all persons
or corporations in England to meddle
with the cause.
Ferdinand of Austria elected King of
the Romans.
Clement answers Henry's letter.
The queen's proctor banished from
court.
Ferdinand is crowned at Aachen.
Convocation of York meets.
The nuncio exhorts Warham to main-
tain the papal authority.
Parliament meets.
Iviii
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1531, January 23
January 30
February 1
February 11
February 14
February 20
March 4 .
March 11 .
March 24 .
March 29 .
March 30 .
March 31 .
April 3 . .
April 8 . .
April 12 .
April — .
May 3 . .
May 4 . .
May 5 . .
May — . .
Dr. Ortiz arrives at Home to defend
the cause of Catherine.
The Duchess of Norfolk sends an
encouraging message to Catherine.
Louis de Praet is sent by Charles as
ambassador to France.
The Convocation of Canterbury re-
cognises Henry as supreme head.
De la Guiche dines with Henry.
Attempt to poison Bishop Fisher.
The Convocation of Canterbury grants
a subsidy of £100,000.
Dr. Croine submits to Convocation.
Princess Mary goes to stay with
Catherine.
Henry grants a general pardon for
prsemunire.
The opinions of the universities in
favour of the divorce are read to
parliament.
Parliament prorogued.
The Duke of Albany urges the pope
not to proceed with the divorce
cause.
Burgomaster Broemse leaves Lue-
beck.
De la Guiche leaves England. De
Vaulx returns.
Henry complains of Anne's violent
temper.
Luebeck joins the lea.gue of Schmal-
kalden.
The Convocation of York prorogued.
Edward Foxe is sent to France.
The Duchess of Norfolk is sent from
court.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1531, May 6 .
May 10 . .
May — .
May 18 . .
May 30 . ,
May 31 . .
June — .
June 5 .
June — .
June — .
June 22 .
July -- .
July 26 .
July 29 .
August —
August 16
August 18
Tunstall writes to Henry that he can-
not accept him as supreme head of
the Church.
The consistory at Rome decides that
the cause must go on.
The clergy of the province of Canter-
bury protest against all attacks on
the power of the pope.
The clergy of York do the same.
The nuncio tells Henry VIII. that the
cause must go on at Rome.
A deputation from the council wait on
Catherine and dispute with her.
Suffolk and Fitzwilliam conspire against
Anne.
Conference of Protestant princes at
Frankfurt.
Comptroller Guildford resigns and
leaves court.
Suffolk denounces Anne as having been
the mistress of Wyatt.
The faculty of law of Orleans declares
that Henry is not bound to plead at
Rome.
The Marquis of Exeter is sent from
court.
Charles V. refuses to allow the divorce
case to be decided at Cambray.
Morette, the French ambassador, leaves
Brussels ; he is replaced by Dodieu de
Vely.
Catherine is ordered to leave court and
to go to the More.
Bilney burned for heresy at Norwich.
Clement exhorts Henry to aid in
opposing the Turks.
lx
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1531, August 19 .
August 27
August 30
September —
September 21
September 22
October — .
October 11 .
October 13 .
October 15 .
October — .
October 19 .
October 20 .
October 22 .
October 24 .
October 25 .
October 2G .
November 1 .
November 5 .
November 6 .
November 13.
The faculty of law of Paris decides that
Henry is not bound to appear at Rome.
Dr. Foxe returns from France.
Riot of parochial clergy at Greyfriars.
Sir Thomas Elyot is accredited as
ambassador with Charles V.
Sir Griffith ap Rice sent to the Tower.
Dr. Foxe arrives at Compiegne.
Louise of Savoy dies.
Anne Boleyn advises Fisher not to
appear in his place in parliament.
Battle of Cappel. The Zuerich army
is beaten. Zwingli is killed.
A royal commission asks Catherine not
to oppose the king's wishes.
J. du Bellay arrives in England.
Catherine leaves for the More.
J. du Bellay and de Vaulx call on
Chapuis.
The pope preconises Edward Lee,
Archbishop of York.
Henry and Anne dine with du Bellay
at the house of Bryan Tuke.
Christian II. of Denmark leaves
Medemblink in Holland to reconquer
his kingdom.
J. du Bellay returns to France.
Ambassadors from the Duke of Cleves
arrive.
Henry VIII. recalls W. Bennet.
Ferdinand sends Nogarolo and Lamberg
to treat with Solyman.
Parliament prorogued to the 15th of
January.
Henry and Catherine dine in separate
rooms at Ely House.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
Ixi
1531, November 14.
November 19.
November 20.
November 21.
November 26.
November 30.
December 3 .
December 4 .
December 11.
December 15.
December 20.
December 21.
December 24.
December 28.
December 29.
December 30.
1532, January 1 . .
January 3 . .
January 4 . .
January 8 . .
January 10 .
January 11
J. le Sauch arrives at London.
W. Bennet leaves Eome.
Bayfield is degraded from the priesthood
by Stokesley.
Henry complains to Chapuis and le
Sauch that Tyndall has not been
given up to him.
Four Luebeck line of battle ships leave
Travemunde to fight Christian II.
Cleve ambassadors leave England.
Temporalities of York restored to Lee.
Bayfield burned as a heretic in Smith-
field.
The date at which Henry is to appear
at Rome again postponed by con-
sistory.
Bainham examined as to heresy by
Stokesley.
Bryan and Foxe return from France.
Tewkesbury is burned as a heretic.
G. de la Pommeraye arrives as French
ambassador.
The pope asks all Christian princes
to help in resisting the Turks.
Gardiner leaves for France.
W. Bennet returns to France.
Henry VIII. refuses Catherine's new
year's gift.
The nuncio presses Henry to recall
Catherine.
Brief of Clement asking Henry to help
in opposing the Turks.
Cause begins at Rome.
Francis writes to Rome in favour of
Henry.
De Vaulx leaves England.
Ixii
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1532, January 12
January 15
January 21
January 24
January 25
February 6
February 7
February 9
February 16
February 24
March 6
March 11 .
March 13 .
March 19 .
March 20 .
April 10 .
Dr. Came asks the pope to grant a
further delay in order that counsel
may be procured.
Parliament meets.
The cause at Rome is postponed till
Candlemas.
Dr. Bonner is ordered to go to Rome.
Boiiner leaves.
Henry accredits Dr. Cranmer as am-
bassador with Charles V.
Clement VII. exhorts Henry to put
Anne away and to recall Catherine.
Bennet arrives at Rome.
Bennet promises 6,000 crowns a year
to the Cardinal of Ravenna.
Henry refuses to take part in the resist-
ance offered to the Turks.
Carne protests against Henry being
cited. Refuses to produce a mandate,
but produces twenty articles which
are all to be discussed.
Warham signs a protest against any
act passed derogatory to the rights
of the Church.
Gardiner returns from France.
Carne produces supplementary articles
in consistory.
Latimer examined by Convocation.
Some of the articles of Carne discussed
in consistory.
Parliament passes the bill against
Annates.
Further disputation in consistory.
Latimer submits.
Disputation in consistory. Previdello
pleads for Henry.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. Ixiii
1532; April 14 . . Cromwell made master of the jewels.
April 17 . . The imperial diet begins at Regensburg.
Previdello pleads again for Henry.
April 26 . . Solyman II. starts from Constantinople
to attack Germany.
April 30 . . Bainham burned for heresy.
May 1 ... Friar Peyto preaches -at Greenwich
against the divorce.
May 5 ... Dr. Curwen, preaching against Peyto, is
interrupted by Elstow.
May 6 ... Elstow and Peyto before the council.
May 13 . . . The nuncio presents a brief to Henry
exhorting him to treat Catherine
more kindly.
May 14 . . . Parliament is prorogued.
May 15 . . . Convocation promises not to make any
new canons without the royal per-
mission.
May 16 . . . Sir Thomas More resigns the seals.
May 20 ... Thomas Audley is made keeper of the
great seal.
May — ... Queen Catherine is taken to Bugden.
May 28 ... The diet at Regensburg decides to
act vigorously in opposition to the
Turks.
June 9 ... Bishop Fisher preaches in favour of
Catherine.
June 17 . . La Pommeraye returns to London.
June 23 . . A treaty of alliance against Charles Y.
is concluded at London between the
commissioners of Francis and of
Henry.
June 29 . . A secret consistory held on the divorce
case.
July 1 ... Christian II. of Denmark surrenders to
Frederic I.
Ixiv
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1532, July 5 . .
July 8 . .
July — . .
July 20 . .
July 23 . .
August 15
August —
August —
August 23
August 28
August 31
September 1 .
September 4 .
September — .
September 11.
September 13.
The Earl of Kildare is appointed deputy
lieutenant of Ireland.
A priest is hanged in his sacerdotal
habit for clipping coin.
The pope and cardinals decide that if
Henry does not send a proxy before
the 1st of November, the cause will
go on in his absence.
Lady Northumberland says that there
is a precontract between the earl
and Anne.
Solyman II. passes the Drau near
Esseg.
The Protestant princes come to an
understanding with Charles V.
At Henry's request la Pommeraye asks
that Marguerite of Navarre may come
to meet Anne Boleyn.
The Imperial army begins to assemble
at Vienna.
Dr. Abel is sent to the Tower.
The Turks lay siege to Guenz.
Archbishop Warham dies.
The Turks are repulsed at Guenz.
Cranmer declares at Regensburg that
Henry will not contribute to the ex-
penses of the war against the Turks.
The nuncio exhorts Henry to send
a proxy to Rome to appear for him
in the cause.
Anne created Marchioness of Pembroke.
G. du Bellay arrives in England.
Various persons receive orders that they
are to accompany Anne to Calais.
G. du Bellay returns to France.
Catherine is at Enfield.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
Ixv
15 32, September 23.
September 27.
October 1 . ,
October 2 . .
October 7 . .
October 11
October 12
October 16
October 19
October 21
October 24
October 25
October —
October 27
October 28
October 29 .
November 4.
November 6.
November 13.
VOL. I.
Henry meets the Princess Mary.
Charles V. arrives at Vienna.
Instructions to Dr. Hawkins as am-
bassador to Charles V. He is ac-
credited to the Protestant princes
and the Dukes of Bavaria.
Cranmer is recalled from the imperia
court.
Sir Nicholas Carew leaves for France.
Henry and Anne leave Greenwich.
Henry and Anne land at Calais.
Cardinal dei Medici, legate with Charles
V., is arrested by two imperial
captains.
Cardinal dei Medici is released.
Montmorency comes to Calais.
Francis arrives at Boulogne.
Francis and Henry meet at Sandingfield
and ride to Boulogne.
Henry VIII. cancels a part of the debt
due to him from Francis.
Francis and Henry go to Calais.
Don Pedro de la Cueva reaches Rome.
Montmorency and Chabot de Brion
elected knights of the garter.
Francis meets Anne Boleyn.
Francis and Henry engage by treaty to
aid in resisting the Turks.
Francis I. leaves Calais.
Parliament prorogued.
Charles V. orders the imperial tri-
bunal not to proceed against the
Lutherans.
Instructions given by Francis I. to the
Cardinals of Tournon and of Gramont,
who are sent to Bologna.
6
Ixvi
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1532, November 13.
November — .
November 19.
November 20.
November 25.
December 11.
December 13.
December 20.
December 25.
December 27.
1533, January 1 .
January 2 .
January 3 .
January 7' .
January 25 .
January 26 ' .
J anuary 27" .
February 2 .
February 3 .
February 8 ,
February 9 ,
Henry and Anne leave Calais.
Montpesat is appointed French ambas-
sador instead of de Vaulx.
Cranmer leaves Mantua for England.
The Scots make a raid into England;
the border war begins.
Chapuis is received by Henry at
El th am.
Cardinal Pietro de Accolti dies.
Charles V. enters Bologna and meets
the pope.
At a Consistor} it is decided not to hold
a council.
Dr. Abel is released from the Tower.
The people of Muenster rout the troops
of their bishop.
Dr. Thomas Leigh is sent to Denmark.
Clement VII. announces his intention
of holding a council.
Cardinals Tournon and Grarnont arrive
at Bologna.
Dr. Bonner leaves Bologna for England.
Anne is secretly married to Henry.
Dr. Bonner arrives at court.
Sir Thomas Audley is appointed Lord
Chancellor.
J. de Dinteville is accredited as French
ambassador to England.
Norfolk has a long conference with the
nuncio.
Parliament opens.
The nuncio and Montpesat assist at a
solemn sitting of Parliament.
The nuncio, Montpesat, and Dinteville
assist once more at a sitting of
Parliament.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
Ixvii
1533, February 13
February 14
February 21
February 22
February 24
February 25
February 26
February 27
February 28
March 1 .
March 8 .
March 13 .
March — .
March 26 .
March 30 .
April 2 .
Montpesat leaves England.
Dr. Bonner leaves England to return to
Rome.
Wiltshire uses threatening language to
Lord Rutland.
The bulls for Cranmer are proposed in
consistory.
Juergen Wullenwever is elected a
member of the Senate of Luebeck.
Saxon ambassadors arrive in England.
A treaty is concluded between Charles
V. and Clement ; the pope promises
that the divorce cause shall be
decided at Rome.
A great banquet at Anne's house.
G. du Bellay and Beauvois arrive at
London.
The French ambassadors have audience.
Henry asks that no new proceedings
maybe taken against him at Rome.
A league is concluded at Bologna for
the defence of Italy.
Charles V. leaves Bologna.
G. du Bellay and Beauvois leave London
for France.
J; Wullenwever becomes burgomaster
of Luebeck.
Lord Rochford leaves for France.
Bills against the papal authority intro-
duced into Parliament.
Cranmer's bulls arrive.
Convocation opens.
Cranmer consecrated Archbishop of
Canterbury.
The theologians of convocation decide
in favour of Henry.
e 2
Ixviii CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1533, April 3 . . The canonists of Convocation decide in
favour of Henry.
April 5 . . Convocation grants copy of the decisions.
April 6 . . Bishop Fisher is arrested.
April 7 . . Eochford returns from France.
Parliament is prorogued.
April 8 . . Convocation is prorogued.
April 0 . . Commissioners call on Catherine and
tell her of Anne's marriage.
April 10 . . Frederic I. of Denmark dies.
April 11 . . Cranmer asks for permission to inquire
into the validity of Henry's marriage
with Catherine.
April 12 . . Anne appears publicly as Queen.
April 14 . . Beauvois leaves London for Scotland.
April 15 . . The Scots take fourteen English ships.
April 17 . . Count Cyfuentes, the new imperial
ambassador, arrives at Rome.
April 23 . . Catherine is forbidden to call herself
Queen.
April — . . Catherine is cited to appear before
Cranmer at Dunstable.
April 30 . . Protestation of Catherine that she will
not accept Cranmer as her judge.
May 6 ... Tunstall refuses to subscribe to the
articles against the validity of Cathe-
rine's marriage.
May 10 . . . Cranmer opens his court; Catherine
is pronounced contumax.
May 13 . . . The Convocation of York decides in
favour of the divorce.
May 23 ... Cranmer gives sentence against
Catherine.
May 27 .. . An embassy leaves England for France.
May 28 ... Norfolk has a conference with Chapuis,
and leaves for Prance.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
Ixix
1533, May 28 . . . Cranmer declares the marriage of Henry
and Anne to be valid.
May 29 ... Anne goes from Greenwich to the Tower.
May 31 . . . Anne leaves the Tower for Westminster.
June 1 ... Anne is crowned.
June 6 ... Norfolk stops at Amiens.
June 13 . . . Bishop Fisher is set free.
The cardinals decide that the excusator
is not to he heard.
June 23 ... The Duchess of Suffolk dies.
June — ... Norfolk sees Marguerite of Navarre at
Paris.
June 26 . . . Henry appeals from the pope to the
next general council.
July 4 ... Frith and Hewet burnt at Smithfield.
July 10 . . . Norfolk sees Francis at Riom.
July 11 . . . The pope and cardinals annul the
proceedings of Cranmer.
July 14 , . . The nuncio leaves England.
July 19 . . . Beauvois arrives at London from
Scotland.
July — ... Catherine is taken to Bugden.
July 21 . . . Norfolk arrives at Lyons, and receives
the news of the papal sentence.
July — ... Chapuis dines on board the Easterling
ships.
July 28 ... Stephen Vaughan and Christopher
Mount leave for Germany.
Rochford arrives from Lyons.
July — ... Anne goes to Hampton Court.
July 30 ... Rochford returns to Lyons.
The Luebeck fleet leaves Copenhagen
for the coasts of Holland.
July — ... Cranmer examines Elizabeth Barton.
August 8 . . A brief of censure issued against
Henry, Anne, and Cranmer.
l.xx
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1533, August — .
August 18 .
August — . .
August 28 . .
August 30 . .
September 3.
September 6,
September 7.
September 9.
September —
September 25.
September —
September 27.
October 1 . .
October 2 . .
October 11. .
October 16. .
October 17.
The Luebeck fleet appears in the
Channel.
Marcus Meyer lands at Rye and is
arrested.
Henry authorises Bonuer to intimate
the appeal to the council.
Norfolk meets Francis I. at Montpellier.
Henry and Anne return to Greenwich.
Norfolk arrives at court from Mont-
pellier.
Gardiner leaves London for France.
At Weimar, Stephen Vaughan receives
an unfavourable reply from the Elec-
tor of Saxony.
Elizabeth is born at Greenwich.
The Duke of Suffolk marries Lady
Catherine Willoughby.
A treaty of friendship is concluded at
Ghent between the Low Countries
and Denmark.
Elizabeth Barton and her accomplices
arrested.
The Duke of Richmond returns from
France.
A short truce concluded with Scotland.
The pope suspends the censures against
Henry, Anne, and Cranmer.
A truce for one year concluded with
Scotland.
Mary Tudor refuses to give up her title
of princess.
Clement VII. lands at Marseilles.
Negotiations between Clement and
Francis I. begin at Marseilles.
Bonner leaves Lyons.
Gardiner reports unfavourably to Henry.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
Ixxi
1533, October 20.
October 21.
October 24. ,
November 1 .
November 2 .
November 7 .
November 9 .
November 11.
November 12.
November 18.
November 19.
November 23.
December 7 .
December —
December 13.
December 14.
December —
December 17.
December 29.
1534, January 9 . .
January 10 .
A disputation held at the house of
Cardinal Duprat.
An agreement made between the pope
and the King of France.
Gardiner sends to England for powers.
Gardiner's letter of the 17th arrives in
England.
Orders sent to Marseilles that the appeal
is to be intimated.
Bonner intimates Henry's appeal.
Oastillon arrives as resident ambassador
in England.
Clement VII. rejects Henry's appeal.
Clement leaves Marseilles.
Richard Pate is appointed resident
ambassador with Charles V.
Dinteville leaves England.
The sentence of Clement VII. ex-
hibited on the church-doors at Dun-
kirk.
Elizabeth Barton stands on a scaffold
at St. Pad's.
Marcus Meyer is knighted by Henry.
Clement VII. shows himself eager to
proceed against Henry.
Elizabeth is taken to Hatfield.
Marcus Meyer leaves England for
Luebeck.
The Princess Mary is taken to Hatfield.
Du Bellay arrives in England.
Commissioners dissolve Catherine's
household at Bugden.
Du Bellay leaves England.
The cardinals decide that the divorce
cause must be discussed once more.
Henry goes to see Elizabeth at Hatfield.
Ixxii
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1534, January 15
January 27
January 30
January 31
February 2
February 6
February —
February 18
February —
February 21
February 27
March 2 .
March 4 .
March 5 .
Parliament opens.
Marcus Meyer arrives at Luebeck.
The landgrave of Hesse concludes, at
Bar le Due, a treaty with Francis I.
for the restoration of Ulrich of
Wuertemberg.
Convocation opens.
The Lords inspect the treaty of alliance
with France. Lee, Heath, and Paget
are sent ambassadors to Denmark,
Saxony, and Poland.
J. du Bellay arrives at Home.
Du Bellay is heard in consistory.
A secretary from Luebeck arrives in
England.
Latimer preaches before Henry in favour
of the pope.
Henry writes to Wullenwever.
An Act of Attainder against Elizabeth
Barton, Bishop Fisher, Sir Thomas
More, and others, is introduced into
the House of Lords.
Simonetta gives an account of the
divorce case in consistory.
The Anabaptists drive the Lutherans
out of Muenster.
Conferences begin at Hamburg between
Dutch, Holstein, and Luebeck dele-
gates.
A list of questions relating to the
divorce case is submitted in consis-
tory.
Castillon finds Henry favourable to a
compromise with the pope.
The council are unfavourable to a com-
promise, but Henry is ready to wait.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
Ixxiii
1534, March 6 .
March —
March 12
March 20
March 23
March 25
March 30
March 31
April 4 .
April 6 .
April 13.
April 14.
April —
April 17.
April 20.
April 24.
May 5 .
The Lords ask to hear Sir Thomas More.
His name is struck out of the Bill of
Attainder.
Castillon submits a forged letter to
Henry, who is less conciliatory.
The bill against Barton is passed by
the Lords.
The bill ratifying Henry's marriage
with Anne is read a first time in the
House of Lords.
The bill ratifying Anne's marriage is
read a third time.
Clement gives sentence against Henry.
Carne and Revett leave for Rome.
Parliament prorogued.
Convocation prorogued.
The cardinals refuse to reconsider their
sentence.
La Pommeraye brings the news of
Clement's sentence.
Carne and Revett meet du Bellay at
Bologna.
Fisher and More refuse to swear to the
Act of Succession.
Carne protests against the sentence of
Clement.
Rochford and Fitzwilliam arc sent to
France.
Fisher and More are committed to the
Tower.
Barton and some of those who favoured
her are executed.
Francis replies to the requests trans-
mitted by Rochford and Fitzwilliam.
Convocation of York decides that the
pope has no power in England.
Ixxiv CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1534, May 6 ... Philip of Hesse enters Wuertem-
berg.
May — ... Lord Dacres arrested.
May 11 ... Peace is concluded with Scotland.
May 12 . . . Count Christopher of Oldenburg arrives
before Luebeck.
May 13 ... Battle of Laufen. The army of Fer-
dinand is routed.
May 14 • . . Marcus Meyer surprises Trittau.
May 17 ... Count Christopher concludes an alliance
with Luebeck.
May — ... Royal commissioners threaten Catherine
with penalties if she will not swear
to the Act of Succession.
May 27 ... The town of Malmoe rises in favour of
Christian II.
May — . . . De la Guiche comes to England.
May 30 ... The Senate of Luebeck sends an
embassy to England.
June 3 . , . Count Christopher concludes a treaty
with Luebeck for the conquest of
Denmark.
June 7 ... De la Guiche leaves England.
Princess Mary signs a protest against
the compulsion to which she is
subjected.
June 11 . . Lord Thomas Fitzgerald renounces his
allegiance to Henry.
June 16 . . The Hanseatic ambassadors arrive at
London.
June 18 . . Philip of Hesse reaches the Bohemian
frontier.
June 19 . . Count Christopher sails from Trave-
muende.
June 23 . . Rochford is made Lord Warden of the
Cinque Ports.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
Ixxv
1534, June 24 . .
June 29 . .
July 4 . . .
July 8 . . .
July — . . .
July 14 . . .
July 15 . . .
July 17 . . .
July 19 . . .
July 21 . . .
July 24 . . .
July 25 . . .
July 27 . . .
July 28 . . .
August 2 . .
August — . .
August 9 . .
August 12 . .
August 30 . ,
September 3.
The Hanseatic ambassadors received by
Henry.
A treaty of peace concluded at Cad an
between Philip of Hesse and Fer-
dinand.
The Estates of Jutland elect Christian
III.
Lord Rochford is sent to France.
Aepinus arrives in England.
Wiltshire and Paulet go to summon
Mary to swear to the Act of Suc-
cession.
Copenhagen surrenders to Count
Christopher.
Chapuis sets out for Kimbolton.
Chapuis is requested not to proceed.
Cornelius O'Brien asks to be assisted
by the emperor.
The Estates of Skonen submit to Count
Christopher.
The Castle of Copenhagen capitulates.
Lord Thomas Fitzgerald enters Dublin.
Archbishop Allen is murdered.
Henry lends 20,000 'florins to the
Luebeckers.
The observant friars are expelled from
their convents.
Ovelacker beats the troops of Duke
Christian at Nyborg in Funen.
The Count of Nassau is sent from
Palencia to France.
The Anabaptists of Muenster repel an
assault by the troops of the German
princes.
Christian of Holstein appears before
Luebeck.
Ixxvi
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1534, September 14.
September —
September 17.
September 24.
September 26.
September 28.
September 29.
October — .
October 8 .
October 12 .
October 14 .
October 17 .
October 18 .
October 20 .
October 22 .
October 28 .
October — .
November 4.
November 11.
November 18.
November 20.
Clement lands at Aalborg in Jutland.
Mary Boleyn sent from court.
Two gentlemen ask Chapuis to advise
Charles to send troops to England.
Chapuis refers to an adherent of
Catherine to whom Henry makes
love.
Pope Clement VII. dies.
Christian of Holstein cuts Luebeck off
from the sea.
Lords Hussey and Darcy communicate
with Chapuis.
Lady Rochford sent from court.
Cromwell is made Master of the
Rolls.
Cardinal Farnese becomes Pope as
Paul III.
Fitzgerald raises the siege of Dublin
Castle.
Brereton lands at Dublin.
Clement, at Svendstrup, routs the
adherents of Duke Christian.
Chabot sets out for England.
Anne sees Elizabeth at Richmond.
Christopher Mores leaves as ambassador
for Luebeck and Denmark.
The Cardinal of Lorraine promises to
go to England.
Parliament meets.
Chabot lands at Dover.
A treaty is concluded at Stokelsdorf
between Duke Christian and
Luebeck.
Henry is declared by Parliament su-
preme Head of the Church.
Chabot enters London.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
Ixxvii
1534, December 2 .
December 18.
December —
1535, January 13 .
January 18 .
January 20 .
January 21
January 31
February 2
February 5
February 18
February —
February 28
March 1 .
March- 3 .
March 5 .
March — .
March 12 .
March 14 .
March 23 .
Chabot leaves London.
Parliament is prorogued.
Anne has a violent quarrel with
Norfolk.
Meyer is defeated and taken prisoner
in Skonen.
Francis I. complains to Hanart that
Charles tries to irritate the Protes-
tants against him.
Christian of Holstein sends Peter
Schwaben to England.
Several heretics burnt at Paris.
Wallop proposes a compromise to
Hanart.
Palamede Gontier sets out for
England.
Gontier arrives at London.
Gontier sees Anne at a ball at
court.
Mary falls ill again.
J. von Eantzau lands with a Holstein
force in Funen.
The imperialist favourite of Henry
supplanted by Margaret Shelton.
Peter Schwaben arrives at the English
court.
Peter Schwaben has audience of Henry.
Lord Bray communicates with
Chapuis.
Gontier leaves England for France.
Cromwell becomes dangerously ill.
Marcus Meyer escapes from prison and
seizes the castle of Warberg.
Mary has a relapse.
Skeffington lays siege to Maynooth.
Maynooth is taken.
Ixxviii CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1535, March 20 . . P. Gontier returns to England from
France.
March 31 . . Henry answers the proposals brought
by Gontier.
April 1 . . Mary leaves Greenwich.
April 7 . . Cromwell is out of danger. Henry sups
at his house.
April 9 . . Albert of Mecklenburg leaves Trave-
muende to join Count Christopher.
April 16 . . Peter Schwaben leaves England.
April 20 . . Robert Lawrence and A. Webster are
examined by Cromwell.
April 21 . . Great riot in Warwickshire.
April 2li . . The Charterhouse monks are exa-
mined.
April 29 . . The Charterhouse monks are sentenced
to death.
May 2 ... Dr. Pack arrives in England from
Luebeck.
May 4 ... The Charterhouse monks are executed.
May 7 ... More and Fisher are called upon to
accept the Act of Supremacy.
May 21 . . . The pope names Fisher, Du Bellay,
Ghinucci and others to • be
cardinals.
May 22 ... The conferences at Calais begin.
May 25 . . . Several Anabaptists are burnt at
Smithfield.
Lord Eochford arrives in England from
Calais.
May 26 ... Christopher Mores goes to Warberg to
confer with Meyer.
May 29 . . . Paul III. asks Deuonville to write in
favour of Fisher.
May 30 .. . Charles V. leaves Barcelona for the
conquest of Tunis.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. Ixxix
1535; June 11 . . . Three more Charterhouse monks are
sentenced to death.
Ilantzau defeats and kills Hoya and
Tecklenburg at Oxneberg in Funen.
The Swedish and Luebeck fleets have
an engagement off Bornholm.
June 14 . . . The conferences at Calais break up.
Chabot leaves Calais.
June 15 . . . A papal messenger arrives at Boulogne
for England.
June 16 . . . Skram destroys the Luebeck fleet off
Svendborg.
Charles V. lands on the coast of Tunis.
June 17 . . . Bishop Fisher is sentenced to death.
June 19. . . Three Charterhouse monks are
executed.
June 22 . . . Bishop Fisher is executed.
June 23 ... Charles Y. lays siege to the Goletta.
Francis I. invites Melanchthon to a
conference.
June 24 ... The allied princes take Muenster.
June 26 ... A true bill found against Sir Thomas
More.
Antoine de Castelnau, Bishop of
Tarbes, arrives as resident French
ambassador in England.
July 1 ... Sir Thomas More is sentenced to death.
July — ... Sir Thomas More is executed.
July 8 ... Barnes is accredited as ambassador in
Saxony.
July 10 .. . Lord Leonard Grey starts for Ireland.
July 14 ... The Goletta is taken.
July 20 ... Bormer, Cavendish, and Pack, accre-
dited as ambassadors in the northern
countries.
Charles defeats Khairredin.
Ixxx
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1535, July 21 . . .
July 29 ...
August 1 . .
August 14 . .
August 18 . .
August 26 . .
August — . .
September —
September 18
September 19
September 28
October 1 . .
October 7 . .
October 9 . .
October — .
October 21 .
October 24 .
November 4 .
November 6 .
November 10.
November — .
November 25.
Charles enters Tunis.
Bonner and Cavendish start for
Hamburg.
Mount and Haynes leave England for
France.
The partisans of Wullenwever are
obliged to retire from the Senate of
Luebeck.
Lord Thomas Fitzgerald surrenders.
The Elector of Saxony refuses to let
Melanchthon go to France.
Wullenwever resigns his office.
Twelve English ships are taken by
Skram.
Anne Boleyn expresses a wish to see
Marguerite of Navarre.
R. Barnes arrives at Jena.
J. de Dinteville arrives in England from
France.
The Elector of Saxony answers Barnes.
Henry writes to Melanchthon.
The Easterling ships are seized at
London.
J. de Dinteville leaves England.
Gardiner is sent to France, Foxe to
Germany.
Gardiner arrives at Calais.
Maximilian Sforza dies.
Pier Luigi Farnese meets Charles V.
Chapuis is warned that Henry uses
threatening language regarding
Catherine and Mary.
A bull of deprivation against Henry
is proposed in consistory.
Wullenwever is arrested at Rotenburg.
Charles V. arrives at Naples.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
Ixxxi
1535, December 1 .
December —
December 3
December — .
December 10.
December 13.
December 15.
December 23.
December 25.
December 26.
December — .
December 29.
December 30.
1536, January 1 . .
January 4 . .
January 5 . .
January 7 . .
January 8 . .
January 9 . .
January • — .
January 21 .
VOL. I.
Catherine falls ill.
Catherine recovers.
Du Bellay is instructed by Francis I.
not to interfere in favour of Henry.
Sir Francis Bryan arrives at the French
court.
An altered draft of a bull of depriva-
tion against Henry is read in con-
sistory and passed.
Catherine writes to Charles V., Gran-
velle, and Chapuis.
Henry interferes in favour of Wullen-
wever.
The elector and the landgrave ask
Henry not to molest Duke Christian.
The elector and the landgrave reply to
Henry's proposals.
Catherine has a relapse.
Sir Francis Bryan returns from France.
Chapuis receives the news of Catherine's
illness.
Clmpuis has an audience of Henry
and leaves for Kimbolton.
Chapuis arrives at Kimbolton and sees
Catherine. Lady Willoughby is
allowed to enter Kimbolton.
Chapuis takes leave of Catherine.
Chapuis leaves Kimbolton.
Catherine dies.
Chapuis arrives at London.
Anne consults with her friends.
Great ball given at court.
Sir Francis Bryan starts for France.
Anne offers Mary a brilliant position.
A courier arrives from Germany with
the reply of the elector and landgrave.
Ixxxii
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1536, January 24
January 27
January 28
January 29
February 6
February 9
February 10
February 14
February 15
February 24
February 25
February —
February 29
March 1
March — .
March 3 .
March 7 .
March 13 .
Henry has a fall from his horse.
The physician and apothecary of
Catherine are prevented from seeing
Mary.
Sir Francis Bryan returns from
France.
Catherine is buried at Peterborough.
Anne miscarries.
Cranmer preaches violently against
papal and imperial authority.
An imperial agent arrives to facilitate
the flight of Mary.
Henry threatens the Archbishop of
Bremen.
Peace is concluded between Luebeck
and Christian III.
Ambassadors from the Duke of Guelders
arrive.
Chapuis speaks with Cromwell about
the conditions of a reconciliation
between the emperor and Henry.
The Bishop of Llandaff is sent to the
Tower.
Du Bellay is recalled from Rome.
Charles V. instructs Chapuis to enter
upon negotiations with Henry.
The Archbishop of Bremen rebukes
Henry for his violence.
Sir Edward Seymour is made a gentle-
man of the privy chamber.
The Guelders ambassadors leave Eng-
land.
Cromwell urges Catherine's physician
to remain in England.
Bonner and Cavendish ask Christian
III. not to persecute Wullenwever.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
Ixxxiii
1536, March — . . Montejan and Annebaut occupy the
Mont Cenis.
March 28 . . Charles V. instructs Chapuis to nego-
tiate an alliance with Henry.
April 3 ... Turin surrenders to the French.
April 9 ... Alexander dei Medici is married to
Margaret of Austria.
April 15 . . Chapuis receives the emperor's in-
structions.
April 16 . . Chapuis sees Cromwell.
April 18 . . Chapuis has audience of Henry.
Cromwell falls ill.
April 19 . . Castlenau goes to Greenwich.
April 22 . . Castlenau is asked by Henry to go to
France with new proposals.
April 23 . . Sir Nicholas Carew is elected knight
of the garter.
Cromwell recovers.
April 24 . . Commissioners appointed to make in-
quiry regarding every kind of treason.
April 25 . . Henry writes to Richard Pate rejecting
the offers of Charles. Castlenau has
audience.
April 27 . . Stokesley is asked whether it would be
possible for Henry to divorce Anne.
Castlenau refuses to go to France.
April 28 . . Castlenau sends a courier to France.
April 30 . . Mark Smeton is arrested and examined.
May 1 . . . Tournament at Greenwich ; Noreys is
arrested. The king goes to York
Place.
May 2 ... Rochford and Anne are sent to the
Tower. Cranmer is ordered to go to
Lambeth.
May 3 ... Cranmer is called before the commis-
sioners.
Ixxxiv CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1536, May 4 ... Weston and Brereton are sent to the
Tower.
May 5 ... Page and Wyatt are sent to the Tower.
May — ... Henry goes to Hampton Court.
May 10 . . . True Bill found at Westminster.
May 11 . . . True Bill found at Deptford.
May 12 . . . The four commoners are condemned at
Westminster. The Duke of Norfolk
is appointed High Steward.
May 13 . . . Twenty-six peers are summoned to try
Anne and Eochford.
May 15 . . . Anne and Eochford are sentenced to
death.
May 16 . . . Cranmer sees Anne at the Tower.
May 17 . . . Eochford and the four commoners
are executed.
Cranmer pronounces a divorce.
May 19 . . . Anne is executed. Henry goes to sup
with Jane Seymour.
May 20 ... Henry marries Jane Seymour.
EEEATA.
VOL. I.
Page 43, line 9 from bottom, for "Thunderby" read "Thunderley."
,, 65, footnote1, line I, for "Dr. Ortiz to the Emperor" read "Dr. Ortiz
to the Empress."
,, 68, margin, for " April 16 " read " April 8."
,, 148, line 8, for "Whitsunday" read "the 3rd of May."
,, 229, ,, 17, for " a thousand " read " two thousand six hundred."
,, 274, ,, 1 3, for " constable " read " grand master."
VOL. II.
Page 96, line 23, for "Edward" read "Edmund."
„ 182, ,, 10, for " Pays du Vaud " read ' ' Pays de Vaud."
,, 215, ,, 4, for " 30th of January" read "9th of January."
,, 320, ,, 8, for "son" read "nephew."
,, 320, „ 1 8, for "T. Brodeau" read "J. Brodeau."
ANNE BOLEYN.
INTEODUCTION.
To understand the history of Anne Boleyn's rise INTROD.
and fall, it is absolutely necessary to have a clear and State of
correct idea of the state of England during her life-
time, and of the character of the people she had to
deal with. This knowledge, I am sorry to say, can-
not be found in any of the numerous works relating to
the period of Henry VIII. The writers of these works
do not mark with sufficient distinctness the immense
difference between England in 1530 and England at
the present time ; and many of their judgments on
Henry VIII. and on his contemporaries are superficial
and fantastic. I may therefore be allowed as far as
possible to attempt to remedy these defects.
Towards the end of the fifteenth century, England
was neither like the kingdom of the early Planta-
genets, which included nearly a third of France, and
ranked among the foremost powers of Europe, nor
like the country which under the able rule of Elizabeth
developed its internal resources, and profited by the
weakness and strife of its neighbours. The country
VOL. i. B
2 ANNE BOLEYN. .
INTROD. had been ruined by civil wars : its foreign possessions
were nearly all gone : the population had been much
thinned, had grown unruly, and had lost its habits of
industry : the revenue was small, the treasury empty,
the administration bad. When Henry VII. ascended
the throne he set himself to improve the condition
of his realm, and in many respects he succeeded.
He reorganised the administration, and made it as
good and strong as possible. He broke the turbu-
lent spirit of barons and knights, and enforced strict
obedience to the royal power. He paid his debts and
filled the exchequer, so that at his death a very
considerable sum was found in the royal coffers. But
with all his talent and energy he could not in a few
years change a weak and poor country into a strong
and prosperous one. Trade and industry could not
be called forth at a moment's notice ; and without
these England, with an indifferent soil and a bad
climate, was unable to support a large population, or
to amass any great wealth.
Popula- Consequently we find that during the first half of
the sixteenth century the population of England was
about three and a half millions, while that of France
was estimated at fourteen millions, and Charles V.
could boast of sixteen millions of subjects in Europe
alone. Even the states of such a prince as Ferdinand
of Austria, or of the Eepublic of Venice, contained a
larger population than England. Of Poland, Muscovy
and Turkey, I do not speak, for they did not belong
to Western Europe ; but each of them was more
populous than the realms of Henry.
London. The capital shared the comparative insignificance
ANNE BOLEYN. 3
of the country ; presenting an aspect very different INTROD.
from that of to-day. To the east it was bounded by
the Tower and the Minories, to the north by Hounds-
ditch and the London Wall, while to the west it went
as far as the Old Bailey. But the population was by
no means crowded. The houses were generally but
two storeys high, and many of them had gardens or
even orchards, so that Thomas Cromwell, for example,
was able to grow apples and pears close to Lothbury.
Even a part of the ground where the Bank of
England now stands was at that time covered with
trees. Outside the city walls to the north and east
the town was surrounded by orchards and open fields,
cattle grazing where now Finsbury Circus and
Liverpool Street are crowded with houses. To the
west were little suburbs round Smithfield and Holborn,
and along the south side of the Strand the houses of
the nobility stood in their spacious gardens up to
Charing Cross. Southwark consisted of a few
hundred houses clustered round the southern end of
London Bridge, while Westminster could not boast
of a thousand. The most trustworthy estimate of
the population makes it amount to ninety thousand
in the city, and forty thousand more in the suburbs.
Paris at that time had more than four hundred
thousand inhabitants, Milan and Ghent two hundred
and fifty thousand each. Eome, Bruges, Venice,
Genoa and Naples were all of them larger than
London, which could rank only with third-rate towns,
such as Lyons, Seville, Florence, Ltibeck, and
Antwerp.
England did not make up by wealth and energy Trade.
B 2
4 ANNE BOLEYN.
INTROD. or by other qualities for the smallness of its popula-
tion. To compare it with the Low Countries or with
Upper Italy in regard to trade, industry and wealth,
would of course be preposterous ; it could not be com-
pared even with France, Germany, or Spain. At
that time England was almost exclusively an agricul-
tural or grazing country ; besides the various trades
ministering to the daily wants of the inhabitants
there was but little industry. The chief exports were
tin, wool, hides, unfinished cloth, and a few other
articles of an average annual value of £400, 000. The
imports were wine, steel, wax, the finer qualities of
cloth and linen, and all kinds of manufactured wares.
Small as it was, this trade was, in great part, in
the hands of foreigners. The Hanseatic merchants of
the Steelyard, the Italian and Dalmatian traders of
Lombard Street were the leading importers and
exporters, and nearly monopolised the banking
trade. A great part of English merchandise was
carried under foreign flags. Notwithstanding the
disfavour of the laws, large fleets of Hanseatic hulks,
Venetian galleons and Spanish carracks went to nearly
every port of the south of England ; and Flemish
and French ships passed constantly between their
own countries and this island. The only trade which
was exclusively in English hands was the very incon-
siderable coasting trade, and the trade with Calais.
The English sent every year from twenty to thirty
well-sized ships to the Baltic ; from a hundred and
fifty to two hundred craft (mostly small) went to
fish near Iceland or Newfoundland ; the rest — scarcely
more than a hundred — traded with the Low Countries,
ANNE BOLEYN. 5
France, and the north of Spain. Few English ships INTROD.
went as far as Cadiz or Seville, while in the Medi-
terranean the flag was as yet nearly unknown.
The royal revenue was in proportion to the Revenue.
poverty of the country. It consisted of the rents of
the royal domains, about £50,000 ; of the customs
and other taxes on import and export, about £35,000;
of the receipts of the 'courts of wards and liveries,
about £15,000 ; of the receipts of the courts of law, of
fines and forfeitures, of duties on the production of
tin, and of other small sums, bringing up the total to
about £12 5, 000 a year. The revenue of Charles V. was
about £1,100,000, that of Francis I. £800,000. The
Signory of Venice was richer than the King of England.
The revenues of the Sultan were ten times as great as
those of Henry. Even Ferdinand of Austria, the King
of Poland or the Grand Duke of Muscovy — if all
their revenues had been taken into account — would
not have been found poorer.
Had the English at that time still possessed those Decay of
,.. 1*11 in •1111 n Military
military qualities which had decided the day at (Jrecy Qualities.
and at Agincourt, King Henry VIII. might, notwith-
standing the poverty of his realms, have had a very real
and lasting political influence in Europe. But his
father had been essentially a pacific king, and had
discouraged among his subjects a martial spirit which
might have led to rebellion. The English therefore
had made no progress in the art of war ; they had
never learnt the exact drill and the iron discipline
which had come in with the increased use of firearms.
Bows and bills were no match for hackbut and
pike, the loose fighting order of the English yeomen
6 ANNE BOLEYN.
INTROD. — so well adapted to their temper — could not resist
the shock of the serried ranks of Swiss or Landsknechts.
The day of the English archer was gone.
The Fleet. On sea the English might have proved more formid-
able, for they were as good and daring sailors as they
are now. Only they lacked ships. The royal fleet
consisted of some thirty ships of 150 tons on an
average and one huge unwieldy vessel of 1,000 tons.
Of the merchantmen a hundred perhaps might have
been pressed into service, but most of them were
little fit to carry heavy cannon. France, Spain, the
Low Countries or the Hanseatic towns were each able
to equip fleets two or three times as numerous as
any force Henry VIII. could have fitted out.
Advan- Thus Henry VIII. could never occupy that position
ssessed among Christian princes which was held by Francis L,
Charles V., or the Pope. But on his accession he
found himself with two advantages by which he
might have continually augmented his power. The
first of these was the geographical position of England,
separating France from the northern seas and Spain
from the Low Countries. If he had chosen to do so,
Henry VIII. could have rendered all intercourse
between the French and their friends the Scots most
difficult, and could have made it nearly impossible for
Spain to trade with the Low Countries or to send
soldiers to them. Hence both the French and the
Spanish faction desired his alliance, and were always
ready to pay a good price even for his neutrality.
Henry VII. , profiting by this advantage, had exerted
considerable influence on the politics of his neigh-
bours, and had obtained all kinds of benefits with very
ANNE BOLEYN. 7
little outlay. While other kings got heavily into INTROD.
debt, Henry VII. accumulated large sums of money,
which his son on his accession found in the exchequer.
This was another great advantage : with ready money
armies of foreign mercenaries could be levied, and
fleets fitted out ; and the bare ability to appear at any
moment in the field gave an additional importance to
the King of England.
Had Henry VIII. been an able and really patriotic
king he might with very little trouble to himself and
to his subjects have made his country strong and
prosperous ; after a happy and quiet reign he might
have left it one of the foremost powers of Europe.
Unhappily for England he was not such a king ; the
advantages he inherited from his father he wasted ;
the position he occupied he spoilt as much as it could
be spoilt by fickleness and incapacity.
Henry VIII. had the ill luck to arrive at the crown Character
at the age of nineteen. His education had been very
bad, and quite unfitted for a future king. Henry VII.
had been no scholar, and having sometimes felt
the want of learning had come to set an unreasonable
value on it. He had therefore taken care that his
son should be taught many things which he himself
knew not ; so that the young prince got a smattering
of several sciences — law, theology, and medicine —
of the Latin and French languages and of the polite
literature then in favour. Of that science by which
his father had obtained and consolidated his power
Henry VIII. learned very little; it was not considered
necessary to train him in the methods of adminis-
tration, finance, politics and war.
8 ANNE BOLEYN.
INTKOD. Nevertheless he was praised as a most remarkable
king. The methodical tyranny of Henry VII. had in
twenty-four years changed the most turbulent into the
most subservient nation in Europe. Everybody in
England bowed before the king, and the young man in
his teens was surrounded by a host of most obedient
servants and of most fulsome flatterers. He had
moreover the mischance to marry a woman six years his
senior, who was incapable of exercising a wholesome
influence on her husband.
His good natural qualities were not, therefore, de-
veloped, while his faults and vices were fostered with
tender care. He had a certain breadth of mind ; and
if he seemed to care for details, it was not, I think,
because he had a predilection for them, but rather
because his ministers left nothing else to his decision.
He had natural shrewdness ; except when his vanity
was in play, it was not easy to dupe him ; and in
small intrigues he was able to overreach many a
cleverer man. In a way he was good-natured ; he was
fond of children, he was liberal towards those of his
courtiers whom he liked and as long as he liked them ;
for a little flattery he would often be very kind to a
suitor. He spoke well, wrote — except upon business
— very tolerably, and knew how to blend dignity
with affability. But most of his good qualities were
stifled in the bud.
The faults and vices of Henry were so great that,
if the unhappy position in which he grew up were
not taken into account, he would seem a contemptible
monster. He was immensely vain, foolish, weak and
thoroughly dishonest. In this age of rehabilitations
ANNE BOLEYN. 9
an attempt has been made to represent Henry as INTROD.
upon the whole a good man and an able sovereign.
Every favourable saying of his contemporaries has
been adduced as if it were incontrovertible evidence,
every damning statement has been dismissed as the
outcome of spleen, malice or folly. Those who argue
in this way overlook the fact that in the sixteenth
century every prince found numerous panegyrists.
Alexander VI. and Caesar Borgia, Charles IX. and
Henry III. of France had their virtues extolled.
Lucrezia Borgia and Marguerite de Valois were spoken
of as most chaste and moral ladies. Francis I. and
Kaiser Max live to this day in popular fancy as
patterns of excellent, highminded and chivalrous
sovereigns. Praise bestowed on a king means very
little.
The state papers of Henry's reign show that he
was exceedingly vain. He inquired eagerly whether
Francis I. was as tall and broad as himself ; and he
exhibited the royal legs to the Venetian ambassador
Pasqualigo, complacently praising the size of his
calves.1 From Chapuis we learn that Henry thought
the highest compliment he could pay the French was
to say they were as handsome and tall as the English.2
We may still see the numerous portraits of himself
which he caused to be painted, and compare them with
1 P. Pasqualigo to , May 3, 1515, Giustiniani's Despatches,
vol. i. p. 90.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., March 15, 1533, Vienna Archives
P.C. 228, i. fol. 27 : " Que depuis peu de temps en ca les francois
avoient desrobe la beaulte et corpulence des anglois et que
sembloit proprement quils fussent anglois non point francois."
10 ANNE BOLEYN.
INTROD. the very few pictures or other works of art he bought
or ordered.
In the correspondence of nearly every ambassador
at his court we read of some foolish boast about his
riches, his power, and his wisdom. " He never forgets
his own greatness," Castillon writes, " and is silent as
to that of others." l " The emperor is stupid," Henry
declared to Peter Schwaben, " he knows no Latin,
the princes ought to have asked me and the King
of France to arbitrate, we would have settled the
matter very quickly." 2 " Your master," said Francis
to the English ambassadors, "thinks himself very
wise, but is nothing more than a fool." 3 Beading
the despatches we find that Henry put himself on a
par with such princes as Charles V. or Francis L,
princes whose realms were four times as populous as
England, whose revenues were even greater in
proportion, and who commanded the services of
captains and armies such as Henry could never dream
of bringing into the field. And as if the king had
feared that these boasts might not be transmitted to
the proper quarter, as if he had been anxious to show
1 Castillon to Francis L, August 12, 1538, Paris, Bibl. Nat.
MSS. Francais, vol. 2,954, fol. 145: "Car il noblie jamais sa
grandeur et se tait de celle des aultres."
2 Diary of Petrus Svavenius, edited by C. F. Wegener.
Aarsberetninger fra det kongelige Geheime Archiv, vol. iii. p. 171 :
" Caesar simplex est et latine nescit, sicut et Gallus . . . Quod si
in me et Gallum rejiceretur arbitrium nos convocaremus eruditis-
simos quosque. ..."
3 Count Cyfuentes to Charles Y., November, 1533, Br. Mus.
Add. MSS. 28,586, fol. 62 : « Que stava maravillado dello que
el dicho Rei de Anglaterra se tenia por sabio y que en verdad
era un loco. . , ."
ANNE BOLEYN. 11
that they were not the result of a momentary feeling, INTROD.
as if he had wished to hand them down to posterity,
we find them embodied in his letters and instructions
to his ambassadors. To the imperial court he wrote
that it was wholly due to his influence that Charles
had been elected emperor, and that it was he, not
Charles, who had gained the battle of Pavia.1 The
French court, on the other hand, was informed in 1536
that no King of England had ever held France so
much in his power as Henry VIII. did at that time.2
Henry's acts corresponded with his words. They
aimed much more at show and momentary renown
than at any real and lasting advantage. They were
intended to make the king appear for the hour a
noble, wise, rich and powerful monarch, not to make
his people happy, or to strengthen his realms.
The court of Henry was of the most magnificent
description ; the treasure accumulated by his father
was squandered in jousts, balls, and mummeries.
Foreign ambassadors, literary men, even simple
visitors, received large presents or were regaled in
right royal fashion, that they might praise the
splendour of the court and the liberality of the king
Occasions of ostentatious display were eagerly sought ;
1 Henry VIII. to B. Pate, April 25, 1536, State Papers, vol.
vii. p. 684 : " Whenne We made Him, first King of Spayne,
thenne Emperour whenne the empire was at our disposition," and
Chapuis to Charles V., December 30, 1535, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 229J, i. fol. 151.
2 Henry VIII. to Gardiner and Wallop, January 4, 1536,
British Museum Add. MSS. 25,144, fol. 119: "We be of no
lesse but much greater auctoritie to direct France than We or
owre progenitors have been at any time."
12 ANNE BOLEYN.
INTROD. really useful undertakings, buildings, public works, the
founding of schools or charities, on the contrary, were
generally avoided. Other men during Henry's reign
built and founded a good deal, the king has scarcely
left any monument to perpetuate his name. What
Henry wanted was immediate praise and glory, and
this he was well aware he could more easily obtain by
mere show than by lasting deeds.
And as at home so abroad. Henry's policy during
peace and during war was always one of show. He
paid dearly for mere names. Defender of the faith,
protector of the Italian league, nay, even Most
Christian King or King of the Eomans were empty
titles with which he allowed himself to be beguiled.
His campaigns were either fruitless or worse than
fruitless ; the successes he obtained were merely out-
ward, and any fortress he conquered he was finally
compelled either to raze or to restore for a tenth or
twentieth part of the money it had cost him. "When
he allied himself with Ferdinand, Maximilian, or
Charles, there was always a kind of tacit under-
standing that Henry was to have the glory, and his ally
the profit of the war. Had this result been obtained
but a few times, one might have thought that Henry
had been baffled by the craftier statesmen of Spain or
Germany. But as it was repeated over and over again,
he must have been satisfied with the share allotted to
him. Marilhac, the French ambassador, stated that
such was the case. " He cares more," he said, " for a
fair show than for the greatest good you can do him." *
1 Marilhac to Montmorency, October 25, 1539, Paris, Bibl.
Nat. MSS.Fr. 2,955, fol. 93 : "II est de telle quality Monseigneur,
'ANNE BOLEYN. 13
His courage in the field was not tested, for Henry INTROD.
was never present at a battle. As to his courage
in facing the danger of disease, Jean du Bellay
records that, when in 1528 a servant of Anne
Boleyn fell ill of the sweat, the lady, notwithstanding
the king's passion for her, was forthwith sent from
court, while Henry fled from place to place to escape
the danger of infection.1 In 1540 he was again in
mortal terror, so much so that Marilhac called him
"the most timid person in such matters you could
meet with." 2 At a time when it was the custom to
speak of kings in the most guarded terms and with
the greatest respect, Eustache Chapuis, Charles's am-
bassador, excused Henry, saying that he was not so
very wicked but entirely led by others, but that even
these could not wholly trust him on account of his
levity.3 Castillon, the French ambassador, did not
scruple to call him plainly a fooL4 Badoer, Carroz,
quil ayme mieulx un bon visaige que plus grands biens quon luy
pourroit faire."
1 Jean du Bellay to Montmorency, June 18, 1528, Paris,
Bibl. Nat. MSS. Fr. vol. 3,077, fol. 71 : " Une des filles de
chambre Monsgr. de Mdlle. de boulan se trouva mardi actainte
de la suee, a grand haste le Roy deslogea et alia a douze miles
dicy, et ma Ion diet que la demoyselle fut envoyee pour le suspect
au viconte son pere qui est en caint."
2 M. de Marilhac to Montmorency, July 6, 1540, Paris, Bibl.
Nat. MSS. Fr. vol. 2,955, p. 185: "Comme la plus timide
personne en tel cas quon sache."
3 Chapuis to Charles V., January 17, 1534, Yienna Archives,
P.C. 229, i. No. 6 : " Touttefois considerant la dame la facilite
du Roy ou ligierete (qui loseroit dire) ..."
4 Castillon to Francis I., June 19, 1538, Paris, Bibl. Nat.
MSS. Fr. vol. 2,955, p. 107 : "II a je ne scais quelle folle fiance
de moy et mesmerveille quil pense que je vous en celle rien.
14 ANNE BOLEYN.
INTROD. Giustinian, du Bellay, Mendoza, Dinteville, Chapuis,
Marilhac all asserted that he was invariably under
the influence of some other person, some alter rex.
And this was not said in spleen or in anger, but
generally by those diplomatists who were in favour
with the king, and had the best opportunity of
judging of his character and position.
Events fully justified the statements of the am-
bassadors. Scarcely anything could be more con-
temptible than the way in which Henry allowed
himself to be led. He never dared openly to rebel
against any one under whose sway he had come, he
never dared to meet a man face to face. Though he
might bitterly resent the treatment he received, he
never mustered sufficient courage to put a stop to it
himself. He conspired against his ministers or his
wives, — secretly he sought for allies to overthrow the
hated tyrants, but until he found a strong and decided
hand to carry him forward and to destroy his victim,
he never ventured to assert his authority. Wolsey
ousted Fox and Catherine, Anne Boleyn overthrew
Wolsey. When Henry became thoroughly tired of
Anne he dared not attack her until Cromwell took the
lead and brought her to the scaffold. Norfolk and
Gardiner avenged Anne's fate on the Earl of Essex,
to be in their turn overthrown by Seymour and
Dudley. From first to last, supreme power was vested
in some other person than the king — there was an
alter rex.
Je luy laisse touteffois et nen fais semblant. Sil vous plaist en
faire ainsy jusques a ce que plus ouvertement je le vous face
declarer jen tirerois tous jours plus en avant."
ANNE BOLEYN. 15
Henry's obstinacy has been -advanced as a proof of INTROD.
a strong will. But obstinacy is by no means a sign of
a strong mind, it is rather a sign of weakness. A man
of strong will and quick decision will never fear to
change his mind and follow a new course, for he feels
sure that his energy and determination will not fail
him. A weak man, on the contrary, is so very glad
when for once he has come to a decision that he is loath
to give it up. The consciousness of his vacillating
temper impels him to cling to his resolution ; he fears
that if he abandons it he will float about like a ship
without rudder. This was true of Henry, but it
was not the whole truth ; for often, when he insisted
upon some important point, the explanation was that
the person under whose guidance he had placed him-
self would have it so. The persistency with which
he acted in the matter of the divorce, for instance,
was due mainly to the influence of Anne Boleyn. In
matters of detail he could be obstinate enough without
receiving encouragement ; and then he frequently
held by his own opinion in order to irritate those
whose yoke he had to bear. If he felt some humilia-
tion in nearly always allowing his ministers to
have their will, he felt a corresponding pride in the
annoyance his sudden resistance gave them. The
prayers of those who wished to dissuade him from
his purpose flattered him ; he gloried in the sham
strength which enabled him to withstand their
entreaties. He thus often rendered more difficult or
even impossible the attainment of what he himself
desired, and inflicted a great deal of vexation and
misery on his servants.
16 ANNE BOLEYN.
INTROD. But the most terrible fault of Henry, and that for
which outward circumstances are no excuse, was his
utter want of truth. His dishonesty cannot be
denied ; his own handwriting is still extant to show
it. Nor can it be excused on the plea that in the
sixteenth century falsehood was general. There was
a wide difference between the falsehood Machiavelli
advised and that which Henry practised. The
Florentine secretary was decidedly the more honest
of the two. He approved of falsehood and deceit
towards an enemy, towards a doubtful friend, or
towards the general public. According to him, official
documents may contain false statements, lies may be
boldly told to an adversary, and the assurances of
diplomatists are to be held of small account, for their
rule is generally not to speak the truth. But un-
truthfulness and double dealing towards one's own
servants and counsellors Machiavelli did not advise.
Charles V. and Francis L, who followed the worst
maxims of the secretary, told no lies to their chief
ministers. Duprat and Gattinara, Montmorency and
Covos, Chabot and Granvella were not deceived by
their masters. The ministers of Henry VIII. were
deceived constantly. He intrigued with one to
counteract the doings of another ; none of them ever
felt sure that he possessed the confidence of the king.
When Henry hated any of his servants and lacked
the energy to dismiss them, he showed them as good
natured a face as Holbein ever painted on his most
flattering portrait. All the time he was accumulating
a store of hatred, was laying snares for his intended
victims ; and at last he handed them over to their
ANNE BOLEYN. 17
enemies, as ruthlessly as if he had never smiled on INTROD.
them. In the skilful acting of his part the king
often showed real talent ; nobody could be certain
that his amiability was not a mask. And this
of course made most people afraid to commit
themselves, and weakened the salutary action of the
Government.
Even this was not the worst. Had Machiavelli
heard of it, he would simply have said that Henry
was a fool, who by deceiving too much, lost the fruit
of his deceit. But if the secretary had seen how
Henry was constantly intent on deceiving himself,
even Machiavelli would have turned with disgust
from so miserable a liar. Henry was a liar to his own
conscience. He was a thoroughly immoral man, and
he dared not own it to himself. He tried by all kinds
of casuistic subterfuges to make his most dishonest
acts appear pure virtue, to make himself believe in his
own goodness. And this he did not only after the
deed had been committed, so as to stifle the pangs of
his conscience : before the act he contrived by sophisms
to convince himself that what he desired was quite
moral and right. It was his constant practice to use
fine phrases about questionable acts, and to throw
upon somebody else the blame for a misdeed which
could not be denied. We find him urging others to
do that which he has not the moral courage to do
himself. We see him prompting deeds from which he
afterwards shrinks back full of pious horror, never
admitting for a moment that he has been the cause of
them. The morality of Henry was the very type of
what is commonly called " cant."
VOL, I. C
18 ANNE BOLEYN.
INTROD. One more fault has been laid to Henry's charge,
the coarseness which he always manifested in his
relations with the other sex. Even his great pane-
gyrist has been forced to admit the truth of this.
Nor can it be excused by the general coarseness of
the times. The French under Francis I. were perhaps
even more dissolute than the English, but Francis was
a model of delicacy when compared with Henry. The
Spaniards, Italians, and Germans, were all more
refined in this respect than the king of England. But
.this is to be said in favour of Henry, that neither his
parents nor those who surrounded him had given him
an example of refinement. Henry VII. was quite as
coarse as his son ; there is scarcely anything so dis-
gusting to be found in the correspondence of the
latter as his father's instructions to John Stile
when he intended to marry the Queen Dowager
of Naples. Henry grew up in the most brutal
and dissolute atmosphere ; there was nobody to
teach him better ; his courtiers were as bad as
their king.
Character jf sucn was ^ne character of King Henry, Catherine
Catherine, of Aragon was altogether different. She was not vain
at all, but on the contrary very simple and careless
of show, praise, or glory. If she occasionally insisted
on being treated with the ceremonies due to her rank,
this was not for vanity's sake, but because she
considered it one of the duties of her station. Nor
was she weak ; she came quickly to a decision, and
was most firm in doing what she considered right.
She was courageous and did not shrink from re-
sponsibility ; threats or danger had no influence on
ANNE BOLEYN. 19
her, and it was impossible to deter her from what she INTROD.
thought her duty by any fear of worldly consequences.
She was more truthful than most people around her,
infinitely more so than Henry. She was pious in the
Spanish fashion, following the precepts of her Church,
but taking no interest in their real sense. She was
charitable and kind, true and devoted to her friends,
and of a forgiving temper towards her enemies. One
of the fairest praises bestowed on Catherine is a
passage in a letter of Eustache Chapuis, where he
deplores that she will lose the goodwill of the Duke
of Norfolk by showing compassion for the pitiable
state of Wolsey, the man whom she believed to be
the author of all her trouble.1
But on the other hand Catherine was narrow-
minded, violent, and wanting in delicacy and tact.
She was unable to understand any but the very
simplest issues ; as soon as a question became
complicated it passed the limits of her intelligence.
Consequently she committed gross errors of judgment
which entailed a great deal of trouble on her and on
her friends. She could never look at any question
from a high standpoint, or gain a general view of
things. She had many individual aims, many single
duties, but no comprehensive scheme. Thus she was
wholly unfit to strike out a way for herself, especially
in the difficult position in which she found herself.
She had to rely on others, first on her father
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., December 13, 1529, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 227, i. Fol. 81: "Et pour ce retourd yl ont
quelque peu suspecte la Royne pour ce quelle monstra avoir
quelque compassion et pitie de la Ruyne du diet Cardinal. . . ."
C 2
20 ANNE BOLEYN.
INTROD Ferdinand and on her confessor, afterwards on
Charles V. and on his ambassador. Even when she
was striving with all her might to defend her own
and her daughter's rights, she never formed any
independent plan. She only resolved that she
would not give way, that no threat or violence should
induce her to lay aside her character as the wife
of Henry, or to admit her marriage to have been
questionable.
While the narrowness of her mind prevented
Catherine from carrying out any great plan, her want
of delicacy and tact made her commit many blunders,
and put her from the outset into a false position.
According to two successive Spanish ambassadors,
Don Gutiere Gomez de Fuensalida and Don Luis
Carroz, the intimacy in which she. lived with her
confessor was decidedly scandalous.1 Her father
Ferdinand most certainly thought so. For in the
spring of 1509, Catherine sent one of her servants,
Juan de Ascoytia, with a letter to her father ex-
culpating herself, and asking him to do all in his
power that Father Diego Fernandez — such was the
confessor's name— might remain with her.2 When
Ferdinand learned the facts from Juan, who was
a familiar servant of the princess and could tell
all that went on in her household, he became so
1 G. G. de Fuensalida, knight commander of Membrilla, to
Ferdinand of Aragon, March 20, 1509, G. Bergenroth, Calendar
of State Papers (Spanish), Supplement to vols. i. and ii. p. 23, and
Don Luis Carroz to Almazan, May 28, 1510, ibid. p. 36.
2 Catherine of Aragon to Ferdinand, March 9, 1509, G.
Bergenroth, Calendar, Supplement to vols. i. and ii. p. 16.
ANNE BOLEYN. 21
alarmed that at the next interview with the English INTROP.
Ambassador he told a direct lie. He said that his
daughter had written to him to send her another
confessor, which he intended shortly to do.1 It is
evident that Ferdinand had heard enough to make
him fear that on account of this scandal the marriage
with Henry might fall through. By a falsehood
he hoped somewhat to shield the reputation of his
daughter, or at least to gain time. With all the
papers before us it cannot be disputed that
Catherine acted with extraordinary imprudence in
persisting in having the friar with her as her
confessor and most intimate servant. Though we
may hold that there was no guilt of the kind suspected
at the time, we cannot much admire a person who
utterly disregarded her own reputation.
But it was not only in this way that her want of tact
prevented Catherine from obtaining a good position.
The same defect caused her to omit a good many
little acts of amiability which, by a man of Henry's
temper, are generally much more prized than serious
devotion. That Catherine was quite incapable of
flattering Henry, may not be imputed to her as a
fault, but it was a disadvantage to her. That she
was equally incapable of humouring the whims and
caprices of her husband, and of coaxing him into any
course she wished him to follow, was a real defect.
Instead of leading her husband with " iron hand in
glove of velvet," she allowed him to feel the whole
harshness of her grasp. If she wanted anything,
1 John Stile to Henry VII., April 26, 1509, J. Gairdner,
Memorials of King Henry VII., Appendix, p. 435.
22 ANNE BOLEYN.
INTROD. she asked for it directly, without charm of manner ;
when she was displeased, she too plainly showed
her resentment. There was no pliancy in her dis-
position, and this must have been terribly wounding
to the feelings of such a man as Henry. Still,
such was his weakness that for nearly four years
he accepted her guidance ; rather than stand alone
he submitted to her disagreeable rule. As to the
broad features of foreign politics Catherine followed
the advice of her father, but she was incompetent
to deal with purely English questions. She disliked
the English system of government as it had been
carried on under Henry VII. , and as, with little
modification, it remained during the reign of his son.
Since she was not strong enough to change it, she
simply opposed now and then some of the measures
proposed by the royal ministers. The part she
played in home politics was unimportant, but such
influence as she exerted was not exerted generally
to the advantage of the crown. The blunders she
committed in this manner helped to prepare the way
for her ruin.
Political The two great parties into which Englishmen who
Parties. too^ any interest in politics were then divided were
the party of the aristocracy and the party of the
officials. The aristocratic party was composed of
nearly all the peers with their relatives and dependants,
and of the great majority of the independent gentry.
The party of the officials consisted of all those
royal servants who, by their talents and industry,
had risen in the bureaucratic hierarchy, with their
families and clients, and of those courtiers who
ANNE BOLEYN. 23
depended entirely on the favour of the king. Both INTROD
parties were very powerful, both had their distinct
traditions and aims, the foremost of which was to
ruin the rival faction.
Nearly all the lay peers at that time were great
landowners, some of them to an extent altogether
unknown now. At their country seats they kept
large establishments, a hundred servants not being
considered extravagant for a simple baron, while The
dukes and marquises had two or three times as
many. Some of these servants were of the better
classes — the sons of knights, of gentlemen, and
sometimes even of nobles. Young men attached
themselves to the households of the great barons,
partly to lead at the country seats or at the town
houses of their patrons a pleasant and gay life,
partly to learn with them the ways of the world,
partly to rise and to make their fortune by the
influence of their masters. The lords found among
them energetic and faithful agents both for political
intrigue and for military service. And as every
peer had at his house a well-stocked armoury,
he had at his command the nucleus of a small
administration and a miniature army, the ranks of
which he could at any time swell by the aid of his
tenants and clients.
The latter were generally very numerous. In those
troubled times a man of the middle classes — unless
he happened to possess extraordinary energy and
capacity — could not stand by himself. In the greater
towns men were formed into guilds and could defend
themselves jointly, but in small towns, in villages
24 ANNE BOLEYN.
INTEOD. and In the country, this was not the case. Here
they were obliged to look out for patrons able and
willing to defend them against oppression and
violence. In the peers they generally found such
protectors. Most peers had influence at court and
at quarter sessions, and were held in respect by the
sheriff and the other officials of the county. A
peer therefore who was ready to assist the yeomen
and small burghers around him readily found a great
many clients, who in return for the protection he
gave them stood by him in his quarrels. Even the
severe laws of Henry VII. against retainers had not
been able to change this order of things. Many
peers boasted that with their household servants,
their clients, their tenants, and their sons and servants,
they could bring ten thousand men into the field ;
and it was the bare truth. Each single lord was still
a powerful baron, and when they all stood together
they represented a force which it would not have been
easy to subdue.
The peers were divided on many questions, there
were frequent quarrels among them, and they regarded
one another with a good deal of jealousy. But they
had common interests which held them together. As
great landlords they wished for the same financial
and administrative measures. As men whose for-
tune was already made, they naturally combined
against those who were striving to rise. Being
nearly all men of the sword, they disliked the
clerkly official. These were ties strong enough
to bind the whole peerage into a party with very
specific aims.
ANNE BOLEYN. 25
The independent gentry generally sided with the INTROD.
lords. They too were great landowners, and if they
rose in rank, it was only to become peers. They led
a life very similar to that of the barons, to whom
most of them were related ; so that all their interests
and sympathies were akin to those of the class above
them, and they followed their natural bent, and stood
by their party.
Nor was this all that contributed to the power of
the lords. Tradition was in their favour. The offices
of high treasurer, high steward, lord chamberlain and
chamberlain of the household were reserved for them.
The command of the armies, the wardenship of the
northern marches, the deputy ship of Ireland and
of Calais, wefe generally held by some of them.
They were also employed on great embassies, and
on all great occasions of state. Those peers who
sat on the royal council had, therefore, considerable
influence as heads of a party holding many high
offices*
But what was all this power and influence when
compared with the position their grandfathers had
enjoyed ? The lords thought of the time when a
Warwick could make and unmake the king, when
there was no power in England equal to that of their
class. They regretted those halcyon days, which
tradition rendered more bright ; and they wished to
see the king reduced once more to the position of
primus inter pares, to diminish the authority of the
administration and to augment that of parliament.
In fact, they desired a total reversal of the policy
of the Tudors. For a long time they had been in
26 ANNE BOLEYN.
INTROD. opposition, now openly, now secretly, withstanding
the constant extension of the royal prerogative.
The fact that they had never within the remem-
brance of the people been placed at the head of the
administration, that they had never held undisputed
sway in the councils of the two Henrys, was in some
respects of great advantage to the lords. For they
had never had any occasion to show their incapacity,
nor had they been obliged to impose taxes, to enforce
odious laws, or to annoy people by fiscal regulations.
They had, on the contrary, persistently clamoured
against the harshness of the existing system. They
were therefore looked upon as the faithful defenders
of the liberty of the subject, and as the only safe-
guard against the tyranny of the king and the
rapacity of the officials. And this made them not a
little popular.
The The officials formed a party less numerous, but
much better organised, than the peers and their
adherents. As a political power they were but of
recent origin. Henry VII., on coming to the throne,
had fully realised that it would be impossible to estab-
lish a strong and durable government without having
at his command a body of men, thoroughly versed in
all the arts of administration, owing obedience to no
one but the king, and wholly devoted to him. Such
a body of officials he had set himself to form, and
before the end of his reign, he had brought together
a large number of able and energetic civil servants.
Henry VIII. sacrificed a few of the most hated of his
father's ministers, but he was clever enough to know
the value of the bureaucracy Henry VII. had left
ANNE BOLEYN. 27
behind him. He was careful not to disorganise so INTROD.
admirable an instrument of arbitrary rule. Under
Eichard Fox, Bishop of Winchester, and subsequently
under Cardinal Wolsey, the body of officials was
strengthened and made even more effective than it
had been under Henry VII.
Nearly all officials had risen from the lower ranks
of life. Such men were preferred, for those who had
no connection with any of the great houses were less
likely to be led astray by family influence. As the
salaries were very small, it was their interest to
compete for extraordinary grants in return for good
and zealous work. They were eager to please their
superiors, that they might be recommended to the
royal bounty ; and when they rose high enough to
attract the attention of the king, their chief object
was to win his favour. The officials vied with each
other in fulfilling his wishes, their promotion being
wholly dependent on his good will.
The officials were most corrupt. To the grants
they obtained from the king they added the bribes
they extorted from the public. Bribery was practised
in every form in a most shameful way. Many of
those who had frequent occasion to transact business
in the royal courts conferred some sinecure or pension
on the most influential members of the bureaucracy,
others made a present every time they appeared.
With the exception of a few persons known to enjoy
the special favour of the king, no man could obtain
the speedy discharge of his business without offering
a bribe. The clearest right could not obtain a hearing,
the simplest formality could not be gone through, all
28 ANNE BOLEYN.
INTROD. manner of obstacles were raised, if no present was
forthcoming. Nor was this all. Besides being
rapacious the royal officials were generally ill-bred
and overbearing. They were upstarts, who had to
undergo many a humiliation, and who avenged them-
selves on the public for the slavish cringing demanded
of them by the king. As a body, therefore, they were
detested by the nation, while the most conspicuous
among them were held in special execration.
Their unpopularity greatly enhanced their value in
the eyes of Henry VIII. Had he withdrawn his
protection from them, innumerable enemies would
have risen against them and hunted them down. The
officials were as much at the king's mercy in this
respect as in any other ; with them the loss of the
royal favour meant ruin, if not death. And as they
knew that the throne was their only safeguard, they
stood most faithfully by it. In fact, during the reign
of Henry VII. and of his son, although we hear of
many a conspiracy of the nobles, we never hear of a
conspiracy of the officials against the king. Even if
they had preferred some pretender they would not
have dared to favour him ; for in case of a revolution
they would have fared very badly ; the mob would
have risen against them. So the officials were con*
stantly on their guard against the dangers which
beset the throne, and were always ready to put down
with the greatest sternness any attempt at rebellion.
It was this quality which made them most valuable
to a king who by his arbitrary proceedings excited
the ill-will of his subjects. Henry VIII. without his
officials would have had but a brief career.
ANNE BOLEYN. 29
The peers and the officials were of course deadly
enemies. The lords hated the officials for their
rapacity and insolence, but even more on account
of the power they gave to the crown. The officials, the Peers
on the other hand, hated the lords for the resistance officials.
they offered to their exactions and tyrannical bearing,
and for the share they had in the royal favour.
Every grant, every office which the peers were able
to secure for one of their party seemed to the
members of the bureaucracy a clear loss to them-
selves. Every suitor introduced directly to the
king detracted from their income, for he paid
them no bribes. The lords spoiled their trade,
making it far less lucrative than it would otherwise
have been.
Their political creeds, too, were wholly opposed to
one another. While the peers wished to limit the
power of the crown, the officials, as the chief agents
of the royal authority, were eager to extend it. On
this account a constant war raged between the two
parties ; under the smooth surface of the court a
bitter enmity lay hidden. Any measures favoured
by the one party were sure to arouse the suspicions of
the other. To be friends with both was not possible ;
whoever wished to have some influence in politics
was obliged to ally himself either with the officials
or with the peers.
Catherine generally sided with the peers. Not Catherine
only were all her instincts in favour of the aris- officials
tocracy, she was disgusted a,t the way in which the
officials used their power ; and she incurred their very
hearty aversion by occasionally trying to resist their
30 ANNE BOLEYN.
IXTROD. tyranny. Henry was well aware that the tone
which Catherine adopted towards the officials was
not to his advantage, but he could not muster
sufficient energy to prevent her from thwarting
them. A party secretly hostile to Catherine con-
tinued to have a large share of his favour and
confidence ; and they missed no opportunity of
undermining the queen's influence.
That Ferdinand of Aragon cheated his beloved
son-in-law more than even Henry would submit to,
may have been one of the reasons why in 1513
Catherine suddenly lost the control she had exercised
Henry over ner husband. Another reason is to be found
humili- in the considerable humiliation which the queen in
ated oy
Catherine, that year inflicted on poor Henry. The king had in
the spring of 1513 crossed the Channel for the
purpose of leading the army with which he intended
to conquer the whole of France. To begin this
modest undertaking he had sat down before Therou-
enne, a place which could be of no earthly use to him,
but which greatly annoyed the town of St. Omer
belonging to Archduke Charles. Near Therouenne
he was joined by the Emperor Max, who brought
him no soldiers, but gained his heart by compliments.
Shortly afterwards Max won for Henry that famous
cavalry engagement known as the Battle of the Spurs,
Henry trumpeted this victory all over the world, but
the world was just for once. Even in England Max,
not Henry, was credited with the result, and the
country rang with the praise of the " second Mavors."
Therouenne being taken had to be razed to the
ground ; after which, by the advice of the emperor,
ANNE BOLEYN. 31
Tournay was attacked, a place eighty miles from the INTROD.
nearest English fort, but wedged in between Charles's
territories. After the capture of Tournay, in which
an English garrison was placed, the campaign came
to an end, and Henry could not but be a little
ashamed when he compared the small result with his
gigantic anticipations. During his absence the Scots,
as hereditary allies of France, had invaded the
northern borders ; and Catherine, who had been left as
regent in England, acted with energy and courage.
An army was soon collected of which the Earl of
Surrey assumed the command. But this was not
sufficient for the queen ; the martial ardour of her
forefathers rekindled in her ; she took to horse and
rode towards the north to place herself at the head of
the troops.1 Surrey's speedy and complete success
prevented her from going farther than Woburn, but
her vigorous behaviour gained for her the esteem
and admiration of the English people. The Battle of
Flodden, fought by Englishmen in defence of English
soil, interested them much more than a brilliant
cavalry engagement fought for no national purpose,
somewhere in Artois, by German and Burgundian
mercenaries. Catherine and Surrey were the heroes
of the day, not Henry and his favourites.
And Catherine, with her usual awkwardness, did
her best to bring this truth home to Henry. He
had sent the Due de Longueville, made prisoner
at Guinegatte, to England, to be kept there in
confinement. Catherine in return sent three Scots over
1 L. Pasqualigo to his brother, September 17, 1513, R. Brown,
Calendar of State Papers, Venetian, vol. ii. p. 146.
32 ANNE BOLEYN.
INTKOD. to Henry, with a letter saying that it was no great
thing for a man to make another man prisoner,
but that here were three men made prisoners by
a woman.1 She was made to pay very dearly for
the coarse way in which she showed her exulta-
tion. Henry, jealous of her fame and glory, stung
to the quick by her taunt, looked out for a new
counsellor.
Among the brilliant courtiers of Henry there were
none who could take the place ; they were ornamental
nullities. Supple enough to humour Henry's whims,
just clever enough to flatter his vanity, they had no
qualities which would have enabled them to guide
him. There were, indeed, a few noblemen who might
have filled the post of prime minister tolerably well ;
but Henry distrusted them, not without reason, for
even the most loyal of them would never have de-
fended his interests with that energy which was
necessary for the safety of the throne.
Thomas But there was at court one Thomas Wolsey, a
priest, who as a young man had entered the service
of Sir John Nanfan, had afterwards passed to that
of Fox, Bishop of Winchester, and towards the end
of Henry YII/s reign had obtained a place in the
royal chapel. He was an able man, and when Henry
VIII. succeeded, he knew how to flatter the new
king : clever, gay, witty, and pliant, he amused and
pleased his royal master. Not long afterwards he
was made royal almoner, which wTas already an im-
portant position, for the almoner was employed in all
kinds of secular business. Wolsey was grateful for
1 Sanuto Diaries. E. Brown, Calendar, vol. ii. pp. 139 and 140.
ANNE BOLEYN. 33
the favour shown to him, and proved his gratitude INTROD.
by zealous and able service. At the same time he
made his company agreeable to the king, who often
went to sup with him, Wolsey being quite ready to
forget the gravity of his cloth and to amuse his royal
visitor by all kinds of jokes. He was chosen to
accompany Henry to France as head of the commis-
sariat of the army ; and this was most advantageous
to him. Henry, far from Catherine, was no longer
under her sway ; he allowed himself to be guided and
advised by his almoner, whose knowledge of business
contrasted agreeably with her incapacity. Wolsey,
who was of unbounded ambition, seized the oppor-
tunity, and determined to become, if possible, the
king's prime minister.
He had an immense advantage over all his
lay competitors for the post. Henry could not be
jealous of any fame or glory he might gain, for Wolsey
was but a priest.
In modern England a clergyman is treated in much
the same way as other men : if any difference is
made it is rather in his favour. During the middle
ages this was not the case. The Church was
certainly held sacred, and its ministers shared in
some measure the respect paid to the institution.
But the respect shown to them was not the respect
shown to an equal ; there was always a mixture of
contempt in it. In an age when every man had to
defend his liberty, security, and honour by force of
arms, military courage was the paramount virtue.
The peaceful citizen, the inoffensive villein were de-
spised ; every one of their occupations was looked
VOL. I. D
34 ANNE BOLEYN.
INTROD. upon with scorn. A true knight spent his time in
fighting, jousting, and love-making — three occupa-
tions specially forbidden to the clergy. No wonder,
then, that the proud warrior looked down on
the priest with that feeling which the strong and
courageous have for the weak and craven. A priest
for him was a special kind of being, something be-
tween a man and a woman, with most of the privileges
of the latter, with none of the rights of the former.
"Friars and women cannot insult" was a typical
mediaeval saying.
England, indeed, had during thirty years of peace
and strong government gained more modern ideas
about knights and priests, but Henry still cherished
many of the notions of the middle ages. He aspired to
the glory and fame of a valiant knight, a fame which
Brandon or Carew, Compton or Pointz might share
with him, but which could never fall to the lot of
Wolsey. There was no danger that by being raised
to high position he would become a rival whose fame
might eclipse that of the king. Let Mr. Almoner be
ever so clever, active, witty, and brilliant, neither in
the field nor with fair ladies could he boast of any
success. He would for ever remain but a priest.
Henry had not, therefore, the slightest hesita-
tion in raising his new favourite to the highest
dignities. The bishopric of Tournay, the arch-
bishopric of York were bestowed upon him ; the
Pope was induced to make him a cardinal ; and
he became lord chancellor. Henry handed over
the reins of government to him, trusting his
ability and devotion, and relying on his quick and
ANNE BOLEYN. 35
firm decision. %And Wolsey, though he took good INTROD.
care of his own interests, in a way served his master
faithfully enough. The policy he pursued was more
brilliant than really wise, but it was just what Henry
appreciated, His alliance was courted, he was
flattered by pope, emperor, and Christian king; he
thought himself one of the greatest sovereigns on
earth.
But Wolsey committed a mistake which was com-
mitted by all Henry's ministers ; he became rather
too forgetful of the feelings of his master. By and
bye the king began to be annoyed at the way in
which the cardinal carried on the whole government
of the realm. He had not courage to rebel, for he
could neither govern by himself nor had he any-
body else to guide him ; he submitted to the rule of
Wolsey as something inevitable. But he brooded
over many a grievance, and, if he had seen a chance,
would have planned the destruction of his minister.
His friendship became a mask to hide the humilia-
tion he felt at being so utterly set aside by the
cardinal.
During the reign of Wolsey Catherine sank into Catherine
utter insignificance. Henry's hatred for Ferdinand ^I7$s
was, indeed, easily allayed by a splendid present ™P™-
sent to him by the Catholic king with flatter-
ing messages; and the anger excited by Catherine
did not last long, for when she ceased to rule
Henry he found her a very tolerable wife. But
one thing told heavily against her : all the sons she
bore to the king died shortly after birth ; of her
children, but one girl, Princess Mary, survived. To
D 2
36 ANNE BOLEYN*
INTROD. Henry, who ardently longed for a son and heir to
succeed him in England and in those realms he always
dreamt of conquering, this was a bitter disappointment.
When Anne Boleyn began to be a prominent figure at
court he had ceased to have any hope of an heir
by Catherine, who was then more than forty years
of age,
CHAPTER I.
ANNE AND WOLSEY.
NOWHERE has the making of false pedigrees been so CHAP. i.
extensively practised as it was in England during the Anne's
sixteenth century. Every man or woman who rose
in the royal favour had but to apply to the heralds,
to have — for a consideration — some genealogical tree
made out, the root of which was a fabulous Saxon
chieftain or an equally imaginary Norman knight.
In the case of Anne Boleyn we know the exact date
when this service was rendered to her by Henry's
kings-at-arms. In December 1530 it was found that
the Boleyns had sprung from a Norman lord who had
settled in England during the twelfth century, and
somewhat later it was discovered that during the
fourteenth century there had been in Picardy a man
called Walter Boulen who had held a piece of land
in fee of the Lord of Avesnes.1 Although Lady Anne
was already a very important person at court, whom
1 Dreux de Eadier, Memoires ffistoriques, vol. iv. p. 219, and
Julien Brodeau, La Vie de Maistre Charles du Molin, p. 6 : " J'ay un
tiltre du Sainedi apres la St. Martin, 1344, de Baudouin de
Biaunoir, Sire d' Avesnes proche de Peronne, qui nomine entre
ses hommes de fief Vautier de Boulen."
38 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. i. it was rather dangerous to annoy, the new pedigree
was received with derision by nobles of ancient
descent.1 The whole structure seems to have been
most fantastic, and all that is really known of Anne's
Her great origin is that her great-grandfather, Geffrey Boleyn,
father, was a wealthy London merchant. He was elected
alderman, and in due time arrived at knighthood and
the dignity of Lord Mayor.
Sir Geffrey married a daughter of Lord Hoo and
Her Hastings, by whom he had several children. William,
father kis eldest son, was in turn knighted by Eichard III.,
retired from business, bought large estates in Norfolk,
Essex, and Kent, and married Margaret Butler, one
of the daughters of the Earl of Ormond. Sir William
was happy enough to escape the dangers of a war of
succession and of several bloody insurrections ; he held
to the last the position of a wealthy country gentle-
man with some influence even at court. He had
three sons and several daughters. James Boleyn, the
eldest son, was to inherit the bulk of the family
property. Edward Boleyn married Anne, daughter
of Sir John Tempest, who was a favourite attendant
of Queen Catherine and seems to have always re-
Her mained attached to her party. Thomas Boleyn, the
second son of Sir William, inherited some of his
grandfather's ability, and went to court to make
his fortune in the royal service. Being a young
man of good address he succeeded in obtaining
the hand of Lady Elizabeth Howard, one of the
daughters of the Earl of Surrey.
1 Chapuis to Charles V., December 21 and 31, 1530, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 226, i. Nos. 51 and 52.
ANNE BOLEYN. 39
This marriage, at the time it was concluded, was CHAP. i.
not so brilliant for Thomas Boleyn as it might now
appear. After the battle of Bosworth, where the
Duke of Norfolk had fallen, his son, the Earl of
Surrey, had been attainted and deprived of his estates.
A few years later he was pardoned and restored to
the earldom of Surrey, but most of his lands remained
with the crown. With a very numerous family he found
himself in straitened circumstances, and as he was able
to give his daughters but small marriage portions,
they could not expect to become the wives of men of
great wealth and rank. Of the sisters of Lady Eliza-
beth one married Thomas Bryan, another Sir Henry
Wyatt, a third Sir Griffith ap Eice. Thomas Boleyn,
therefore, could well aspire to the hand of Lady
Elizabeth.
The young couple at first resided chiefly at Hever,
in Kent, a place belonging to Sir William Boleyn.
Besides the house and the yield of the home-farm,
they seem to have had in money only fifty pounds
a year. But that sum was not so small as it appears :
it entitled to the honour of knighthood, and enabled
its possessor to lead a simple but easy life in the
country. In all probability it was at Hever that Birth of
Anne was born either in 1502 or in the first half of Anne'
1503.1 She had a good many brothers and sisters,
but most of them died young, The only survivors
were her brother George and her sister Mary, both
younger than Anne.
While Anne was still a child the position of her
1 About the date of Anne Boleyn' s birth and the history of
her early life see Appendix, Note A.
40 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. i. father steadily improved. In 1505 Sir William
Boleyn died, and his son Thomas inherited a con-
siderable part of his wealth. At the same time the
Earl of Surrey, by his prudence, energy, and skill,
gradually gained the favour of Henry VII. On the
accession of Henry VIII. the cloud which had hung
over the house of Howard was entirely dispelled, and
Surrey became one of the chief counsellors of the
new king. He naturally advanced the interests of
his sons-in-law. Thomas Boleyn, who had been
knighted, was employed by the Government. In 1511
he and his brother-in-law, Sir Henry Wyatt, were made
joint governors of Norwich Castle. In 1512 Sir
Thomas was sent as ambassador to Margaret of Savoy,
the ruler of the Low Countries ; and henceforward
we find him taking rank among the regular ministers
of the crown.
Sir Thomas had now a large income, of which he
made a very creditable use by giving his children a
good education. He kept several masters to teach
them, and though, measured by our standard, their
accomplishments were but small, they were well
brought up according to the ideas of their time. But
Anne in Sir Thomas did even more for Anne. The French
lce' court being considered in England the pattern of grace
and refinement, he secured for Anne in 1514 the
privilege of accompanying Mary Tudor, who went to
marry Louis XII. of France.1 Mary promised to
1 Epistre contenant le proces criminel fait a lencontre de la
Royne Boullant d' Angleterre, ascribed to Lancelot de Carles, to
Marot and to Crispin de Milherve, printed first at Lyons, 1545,
by "Charles ausmonier de Mr. le Dauphin;" and again by
ANNE BOLEYN. 41
look after the child, who on her part seems to have CHAP. i.
been delighted at the prospect of escaping from the
monotony of Hever, and of living at the gayest of
courts. It was on this occasion that she wrote to her
father a most grateful letter, by the strange spelling of
which some students have been sorely puzzled.1
Towards the end of 1514 Mary Tudor, accompanied
by Surrey, now created Duke of Norfolk, by Sir
Thomas Boleyn, and by her little attendant Anne,
crossed the Channel. At Abbeville the marriage
ceremony was performed, after which Louis, jealous
of English influence, dismissed the servants his young
wife had brought over. Exceptions were made, how-
ever, in favour of Anne and of her cousin the Lady
Elizabeth Grey, as both were children and could have
no influence on the Queen. Shortly afterwards King
Louis died, and his widow hastened to marry Charles
Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and returned to England.
But Anne, who by this time had learned a
good many French ways, remained behind. By the
wish of her father she was intrusted to the care of
the new queen, Claude of France, an excellent woman,
who is said to have taken the greatest pleasure in the
education of young girls.
Crapelet, at Paris, in his Lettres de Henry VIII. a Anne
Boleyn :
" Or Monseigneur je crois que bien scavez
Et de longtemps la connaissance avez
Que Anne Boullant premierement sortit,
De ce pays quand Marie en partit.
Pour s'en aller trouver le Roy en France
Pour accomplir des deux Roys Taliance."
1 Cambridge, Corpus Christi College MSS. vol. 119, fol. 21.
42 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. i. Under this superintendence Anne remained six
years in France, learning French and Italian, and
acquiring all those arts and graces by which she
was afterwards to shine. When towards the end of
1521 the political aspect became rather threatening, Sir
Thomas recalled his daughter. She had now become
a young woman, not very handsome, but of elegant
and graceful figure, with very fine black eyes and hair
and well-shaped hands. She was naturally quick
and witty, gifts her French education had fully
developed. Being extremely vain and fond of praise
and admiration, Anne laid herself out to please, a
task not very difficult for a young lady just returned
from the centre of all elegance. Being so closely
related to one of the greatest noblemen in the
realm, she soon obtained a good position at court,
and shared its gaieties and pastimes.
Proposed Already, before Anne's return, it had been pro-
nage. pQge(j ^^ ^ g^^^ marry Sir James Butler,
son of Sir Piers Butler, an Irish chieftain, who had
set up a claim to the earldom of Ormond, and had
seized the Irish estates of the late lord. The Earl of
Surrey, Anne's uncle, who was at the time lord
deputy of Ireland, wished by this marriage to
conciliate the conflicting claims of the late earl's
English legitimate descendants and of his
illegitimate son, Sir Piers, whom the Irish people
preferred. Anne was to receive as her dowry the
claims of the Boleyn and Saintleger families, and
her father-in-law was to be created Earl of Ormond.
Cardinal "Wolsey was favourable to the plan, and Sir
Thomas Boleyn and his English relations were ready
ANNE BOLEYN. 43
to accept the compromise ; but the pretensions CHAP. i.
of the Irish chieftain were exorbitant. A year
passed during which Surrey and he haggled about
the terms, and at the end of 1522 the matter was
given up.
The events of Anne's life from 1523 to 1526 are Anne's
not exactly known. Her fortunes were at that 8t8ter'
time thrown into the shade by those of her
younger sister Mary. Early in 1521 the latter had
married William Carey, one of the gentlemen
of Henry's chamber. As she resided constantly at
court and seems to have been rather handsome, she
attracted the attention of the king, and soon became
his mistress.1 But Mary Carey did not contrive
to make her position profitable either to herself
or to her husband: it was her father, Sir Thomas Lord
Boleyn, who reaped the golden harvest. Mr. Brewer
in his Calendar has recorded a few of the
grants he obtained from the king : on the 24th of
April, 1522, the patent of treasurer of the household ;
five days later the stewardship of Tunbridge, the
receivership of Bransted, and the keepership of the
manor of Penshurst ; in 1523 the keepership of
Thunderby and Westwood Park, and in 1524 the
stewardship of Swaffham. Having by all these
lucrative employments obtained sufficient means to
sustain the dignity, Sir Thomas was in 1525 created
Lord Eochford.
Her father holding an office which obliged him to
be nearly always at court, Anne spent a good part of
her time with him in the vicinity of the royal palace.
1 See Appendix, Note B.
44 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. i. Although there was much gaiety around her, she
appears to have felt rather dissatisfied. Being long
past twenty and still only plain Mistress Anne,
what wonder if she thought that as her elders
were not eager to provide a husband for her
she might look out for herself ? There was at that
time in the household of Cardinal Wolsey a foolish,
IsirHen** wavward> violent young man, Sir Henry Percy,
Percy, eldest son and heir of the Earl of Northumber-
land. He had been sent to Wolsey to learn under his
roof the manners and customs of the court, and to
gain the patronage of the great cardinal. Not being
able to do any more useful work, Sir Henry simply
followed Wolsey when the latter went to court. On
these occasions he frequently met Mistress Anne ;
a flirtation began between them ; and Percy being a
very fair prize, she tried her best arts on him. The
young knight soon fell desperately in love, and did
not hide his intention of making her his wife.
Wolsey was greatly displeased when he heard of it,
and immediately sent for Sir Henry. The latter made
a frank avowal, and ingenuously begged that his
betrothal with Lady Mary Talbot, which had taken
place in 1523 or 1524, might be formally cancelled.
But he met with no favour; Wolsey soundly rated
him for his presumption, and, when Sir Henry proved
obstinate, called in the old Earl of Northumberland to
carry off his son. Both Anne and Percy were
enraged at this interference with their affairs, and
retained a grudge against the cardinal to the end of
his life.
One of the reasons which have been assigned for
ANNE BOLEYN, 45
Wolsey's opposition to Sir Henry Percy's wishes, is CHAF-
that the cardinal was already aware that the king was An
in love with Anne. There is nothing improbable in
this. The reign of Mary Carey was past, her fickle
lover had turned to other beauties, and it is pretty
certain that in 1526 there was already a flirtation
between him and Anne. This may have been
known to Wolsey, and may have influenced his
conduct.
For some time Anne kept her royal adorer at an even
greater distance than the rest of her admirers. She
had good reason to do so, for the position which Henry
offered her had nothing very tempting to an
ambitious and clever girl. Unlike his contemporary
Francis L, unlike some of his successors on the
English throne, Henry VIII. behaved rather shabbily
towards those of his fair subjects whom he honoured
with his caprice. The mother of his son, Henry
Fitzroy, had been married to a simple knight, and had
received little money and few jewels or estates.
Mary Boleyn had not even fared so well; her husband
remained plain Mr. Carey, and the grants bestowed on
her were small. Nor had these or the other ladies who
had become royal mistresses ever held a brilliant
position at court. Their names are scarcely mentioned
in contemporary records, and they would all have
been utterly forgotten had not a few of them been
otherwise remarkable. Under these circumstances
it cannot be considered an act of great virtue that
Anne showed no eagerness to become the king's
mistress. She certainly was at first rather reticent,
for we know from one of Henry's letters that she kept
46 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. i. him in suspense for more than a year.1 She was
pleased to have the king among her admirers, but she
wished for something better than the position of
Elizabeth Blount or of her sister Mary.
Still, if a more brilliant prospect had not opened
before Anne, it is highly probable that after having
secured what would have seemed to her a fail-
equivalent she would have put aside her scruples.
For whatever her good qualities may have been,
modesty did not hold a prominent place among them.
Sir Henry Percy was not the only man with whom
she had an intrigue. Thomas Wyatt, her cousin,
though already married, was her ardent admirer. She
gave him a golden locket, and, if we may believe their
contemporaries, he received from her very different
treatment from that which she now accorded to
Henry.2
It is not, therefore, uncharitable to suppose that
if Anne had had no chance of becoming Henry's
wife she might have tried to obtain by her ability
and charms that position in England which her
famous namesake, Anne d'Etampes, held in France.
She might have become the first duchess of the
Portsmouth, Cleveland, and Kendal class, and her
offspring might to this day have been the mighty
and highly respected Dukes of Pembroke.
1 Crapelet, Love Letters of Henry VIII., Letter No. iv. p. 110.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., May 10, 1530, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 226, i. 50 : "Sire il y a longtemps que le due de Suffocq ne
sest trouve en cort et dit Ion quil est banni pour quelque temps a
cause quil revela au Roy que la dame avoit este trouvee au delit
avec un gentilhomme de court qui desja en avoit autreffois este
chasse pour suspicion.' '
ANNE BOLEYN. 47
But when Henry began to pay court to Anne CHAP. i.
there was already a rumour that he was tired of his R^ours
queen, that he was greatly annoyed at having no legiti- divorce.
mate son to succeed him, and that he might possibly
discard Catherine and look out for a younger bride.
There were rumours to this effect whenever Henry
was on bad terms with the family of the queen.
When, in 1514, he had quarrelled with King
Ferdinand, his father-in-law, it had been said
that he would divorce Catherine, who had then no
child living.1 The political troubles of 1526 were
in some respects very similar to those of 1514, and
they naturally gave rise to the same reports.
At this time both king and prime minister had
been deeply offended by Charles V., the nephew
of the queen. The emperor, after the ba/ttle of
Pavia, had taken but little account of the wishes
and pretensions of Henry. He knew that the king
and Wolsey had been negotiating a private peace with
France, that they had intentionally delayed the pay-
ment of subsidies, and that they had been quite
ready to betray him. After his victory, therefore,
with more justice than prudence, he treated his faith-
less ally with scarcely hidden contempt. Henry
resented the slight, and was unwilling to give up the
foolish hope that he might one day become King
of France. The cardinal was equally displeased.
In 1521 the emperor had promised him an in-
demnity for his pension from France, and had under-
taken to support him at the next conclave ; but the new
1 Sanuto Diary, September 1, 1514, K. Brown, Venetian
Calendar, vol. ii. p. 188.
48 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. i. pensions had been paid most irregularly, and at the
two conclaves of 1521 and 1523 the imperialist card-
inals had not voted in his favour. Tempting offers
being made to him by Louise de Savoye, he advised
Henry to go over to the French, and both king and
minister now freely abused the emperor. Catherine,
who liked her nephew, was far too honest to hide her
feelings ; she defended him, and thereby drew on
herself a part of her husband's anger. Tn these cir-
cumstances the possibility of a divorce began once
more to be talked about.
A divorce such as may be obtained now was not
possible in the time of Henry VIII. Marriage being
a sacrament was held to be indissoluble. Conse-
quently, when a man wished to get rid of his wife
without killing her, he had to prove that his marriage
had never been good and valid. This was done
with a facility of which nobody can form an idea
without being acquainted with the composition and
practice of the courts before which, such cases were
brought. They were most corrupt, and always ready
to please the strongest. Mr. Brewer, in his Calendar,
cites but one example, that of the Duke of Suffolk,
who twice committed bigamy and was three times
divorced, who began by marrying his aunt and ended
by marrying his daughter-in-law.1 But his case was
by no means extraordinary ; during the reign of
Henry VIII. and Edward VI. there were many
similar instances. The repudiation of a wife was a
matter of nearly daily occurrence.
1 Brewer, Letters and Papers of Henry VIII., vol. ii. p. xxxiv.
note, &c.
ANNE BOLEYN. 49
Anne, who had seen people repudiate their old CHAP. i.
wives and take new and younger brides, who knew Anne
that Henry was on bad terms with the queen and aimattL
that he ardently wished to have a legitimate son, Crown.
began to consider what effect all this might have
upon her own fortunes. Perceiving that she might
be able to displace Catherine, she resolved to spurn
every lower prize and to strive with all her might
for the crown. From this time she ceased to be
merely a clever coquette, and became an important
political personage.
If Anne wished to keep her power over Henry Berdiffi-
unimpaired, to increase her influence and finally to
reach the desired end, she had to play a diffi-
cult game. She had to refuse the king's dis-
honourable proposals, yet had to make her society
agreeable to him. Had she yielded, he would
very soon have grown tired of her, for he was the
most fickle of lovers, having hitherto changed his
loves with even greater facility than his good brother
of France. But Anne was quite clever enough to
succeed ; Henry bitterly complained of her severity,
but never found her company tiresome. The longer
this lasted the more his love for her increased: what
had at first been a simple caprice became a violent
passion for which he was ready to make great
sacrifices.
Although the idea of a divorce had presented Henry
itself to many minds at an earlier date, no allusion to divorce
whatever is made to it in the state papers before Catherine-
1527. A letter of John Clerk, Bishop of Bath, of the c
September
13th September, 1526, in which occur the words that 13, 1526.
50 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. i. there will be great difficulty circa istud benedictum
divortium, clearly refers to tlie divorce between
Margaret of Scotland and the Earl of Angus.1 Mar-
garet had just obtained at Rome a sentence in her
favour, the revocation of which was desired by
Henry. It is only in the spring of 1527, long
after the king had been sighing at Anne's feet,
that the divorce is first seriously mentioned.
April, In the spring of 1527 Henry consulted some of his
e*
most trusted counsellors about the legality of his
marriage with his late brother's widow. Fully un-
derstanding in what direction the royal wishes lay,
they immediately showed great scruples. Wolsey
himself seems to have been eager to please the
king ; he was perhaps not aware that Henry had some
other motive than a simple dislike of Catherine and
the desire for a son and heir. That Lord Eochford,
Anne's father, was in favour of the divorce awakened
no suspicion, for he was a French pensioner, de-
cidedly hostile to the emperor. The notion that
Anne might profit by the intrigue, or even that she
had anything to do with it, would have seemed
preposterous. Wolsey thought that Anne had
become Henry's mistress ; and as he knew from
long experience that in such cases the king was tired
of his conquest in a few months, he confidently
expected that long before the divorce could be
obtained Anne would be cast off. In that case he
hoped to make a good bargain by selling the hand
of his master to the highest bidder.
1 British Museum, Cotton MSS. Caligula, D. ix. 248, and
Brewer, Letters and Papers, vol. iv. p. 1109.
ANNE BOLEYN. 51
Consequently the cardinal had no reason to object CHAP. i.
to Henry's wish to get rid of Catherine. He
lent himself to a most odious attempt to cheat
Catherine out of her good right. On the 17th of
May, 1527, Wolsey, with Warham, the Archbishop May 17,
of Canterbury, held secretly a court at Westminster,
before which Henry was cited. Proceedings were
begun nominally against the king for having lived
for eighteen years in incestuous intercourse with the
widow of his • late brother, and Henry pretended to
defend himself against the accusation. A second
sitting was held on the 20th, a third on the 31st.
At the latter sitting, Dr. John Bell appeared as proctor
of the king, while Dr. Richard Wolman, a trusted
royal servant, was appointed to plead against him.1
But it was felt that the authority of the two
archbishops alone might not be sufficient to overcome
the public feeling against the divorce. Wolsey,
therefore, proposed that the question whether a man
might marry his late brother's wife should be sub-
mitted to a number of the most learned bishops in
England. The question was put in such a way that
it was thought all the bishops would answer as the
king desired. It was intended that the court should
meet once more in secret after receipt of the answer
of the bishops, that it should declare the marriage of
Henry and Catherine to have been null and void from
the beginning, and that it should condemn them to
separate and to undergo some penance for the sin
1 Proceedings before Cardinal Wolsey, May 17 to 31, 1527,
R.O. and Brewer, Letters and Papers, vol. iv. pp. 1426 to
1429.
E 2
52 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP, i, they had lived in. After this, Henry would have
been free to marry whom he chose.1
Unhappily the bishops did not prove quite so
subservient as had been expected; perhaps, too,
they had not perceived the drift of the question.
Most of them answered that such a marriage with
papal dispensation would be perfectly valid.2 This
of course made it difficult for the archbishops to
decide in Henry's favour ; and even if they did
decide in his favour, Catherine would still have the
right of appeal from their judgment to that of the
May 6, pope. At this time all the world was startled by the
1527. tidings that the pope was shut up by the imperial
troops in the castle of St. Angelo, and it was pretty
certain that Clement would not in these circumstances
dare to give judgment against the emperor's aunt.
The news of the pope's imprisonment was there-
fore as disagreeable as the reply of the bishops.
Henry was further disconcerted by learning that the
secret had not been well kept, and that Catherine
was perfectly aware of the steps taken against her.
Cardinal Wolsey was so much hated by most
Englishmen, Catherine was so popular, and the course
which Henry pursued was so repugnant to his people,
that even his most trusted agents did not scruple
to betray his confidence. On the day after the first
May is, sitting at Westminster Don Inigo de Mendoza,
the imperial ambassador, was informed of all that
1 Proceedings before Cardinal Wolsey, May 17 to 31, 1527,
E..O. and Brewer, Letters and Papers, vol. iv. p. 1429.
2 The Bishop of Rochester to Wolsey, R.O. and Brewer, Letters
and Papers, vol. iv. p. 1434.
ANNE BOLEYN. 53
had been done. A friend of Catherine told him, and CHAP. i.
although the man denied that he acted by her order,
Mendoza felt sure that he came with the consent of the
queen, and that the help of the emperor was wanted.1
Under these conditions it was not easy to proceed,
for Catherine might make great difficulties, and the
matter, if rendered public by her, might lead to
the serious embarrassment of the government. But
Henry was so much bent on having his way at once
that he made an attempt to wring from Catherine
some acknowledgment ^of the justice of his pretended
scruples. On the 22nd of June he spoke to her, June 22>
saying that since he had married her he had been 1527-
living in a state of mortal sin, and that henceforward
he would abstain from her company ; and he asked
her to retire to some place far from court. If Henry
expected that Catherine would give way he was mis-
taken. She was very much moved and burst into
tears, but she neither admitted the justice of Henry's
scruples, nor made choice of a separate residence.
The king, seeing his error, was afraid to press her
further. He blandly told her that all would be done
for the best, and asked her to keep the matter secret.2
All proceedings were for the moment abandoned ;
but Henry was very angry at his defeat, and would
have liked to carry matters with a high hand, and to
bully his bishops into a favourable opinion. He was
1 Don Inigo de Mendoza to Charles V., May 18, 1527, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 224, i. No. 18 ; and Gayangos, Calendar of State
Papers, Spanish, vol. iii. part ii. p. 193.
2 Don Inigo de Mendoza to Charles V., July 13, 1527, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 224, i. No. 22 ; and Gayangos, Calendar, vol. iii.
part ii. p. 276.
54 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. i. especially indignant with Wolsey for not taking
definite action, and startled him by the violence of
his expostulations.1
Wolsey The negotiations with France had now proceeded
France, so far that it was necessary to send a special embassy
to treat with Francis about the league against the
emperor. Wolsey was undoubtedly the person most
fitted for such a mission, and at any other time he
would have acted wisely in undertaking it himself.
At this juncture, however, he committed a great
blunder in deciding to go to Amiens. Henry was
urging him to reopen the legatine court, and to continue
the proceedings in the divorce case ; and Wolsey
may have wished to leave the country for a time in
order to escape from this difficulty. He certainly
hoped that during his absence Henry's passion
would become less violent, and that he would find
means to satisfy the king without making himself
even more odious to the people than he already
was. With these thoughts and hopes Wolsey left
at the beginning of July with a numerous retinue,
and crossed over to France.
Growing The cardinal had not been absent a month before it
influence n _ . .
of Anne, became plain to most courtiers that the divorce was
August, sought in favour of Anne.2 She now almost con-
1527< stantly resided at court, remained for hours with the
king, and scarcely thought it worth while to hide her
1 Wolsey to Henry VIII., July 1, 1527, State Papers, vol. i.
p. 194.
2 Don Inigo de Mendoza to Charles V., August 16, 1527,
Vienna Archives, P.O. 224, i. No. 27 ; and Gayangos, Calendar,
vol. iii. part ii. p. 327.
ANNE BOLEYN. 55
purpose. This made the divorce very unpopular, for CHAP. i.
Lord Eochford, mean and grasping, was not beloved,
while Anne had but a sorry reputation, and, owing
to the violence of her temper and the insolence of her
language, was disliked by the court in general. Such
decency as still survived among English courtiers
was shocked by the remembrance of the king's
relation to Anne's sister, and everybody saw
through the lie of Henry's scruples. When
Wolsey started for France he probably anticipated
that the king, left to himself, would be cowed by
the strength of the opposition, and would abandon
his design.
If such were the thoughts of "Wolsey, he under-
rated the ability of Anne. She could not reckon
upon a single ally, but she had by this time come to
understand the character of Henry, and had learned
how he might be ruled. The secret of Wolsey 's
success was no longer hidden from her. She had the
same kind of advantages as those to which the cardinal
had owed his elevation : for Henry might raise her to
the highest rank without fearing her rivalry ; and
as Wolsey had consolidated his power during Henry's
absence from Catherine, so Anne was now intent on
gaining a lasting influence during the absence of
Wolsey. She played her game with such tact
that week after week her empire became stronger.
Henry allowed himself to be guided by her in
matters of state, she succeeded in making him sus-
picious of the .cardinal's judgment and intentions,
and she encouraged him to act independently behind
the back of his prime minister.
56 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. i. After the failure of the attempt to secure the
Wolse^s divorce by surreptitious means, Wolsey, seeing the
plan. j^ng go ken|. on j^ ka(j formec[ a p}an by which he hoped
the end might be attained in a more effective manner
July 29, and with less responsibility to himself. From Abbeville
he communicated it to Henry. Catherine, he said,
might decline his jurisdiction or appeal to the pope.
Now if Clement were free he would certainly favour
the king, but he was the prisoner of Charles, and
likely to continue so for some time. The cardinals who
remained at liberty might, however, meet at Avignon,
where Wolsey would join them ; and as Perpignan was
not far off the emperor might be induced to go to
that place to arrange with Louise of Savoy (mother of
Francis I.), and with Wolsey for the conclusion of
peace, and for the liberation of the pope. If Charles
refused reasonable conditions Henry might declare
against him, the cardinals at Avignon would easily
be induced to take steps for the government of the
Church during the captivity of the pontiff, and
matters might be handled in such a way that Henry
would in the meanwhile gain his end.1
But this method seemed too dilatory to the king,
who was eager to be at liberty to marry, and to Anne,
who wished soon to be queen ; and Wolsey was sus-
pected of having proposed the plan in order to gain
time. It was thought that a direct appeal to the
pope might be successful, and it was decided that the
attempt should be made without the cardinal's know-
ledge. The instrument chosen by Henry and Anne
1 Wolsey to Henry VIII., July 29, 1527, State Papers, vol. i.
fol. 230.
ANNE BOLEYN. 57
was Dr. William Knight, the king's first secretary, CHAP. i.
an old and apparently somewhat conceited man, while Secret
their chief adviser seems to have been John Barlow,
the chaplain of Lord Eochford.1 Knight was to
proceed to Italy, where he was to try by all means to
get access to the pope. He was to ask Clement to 1527'
grant a dispensation to Henry to marry at once, even
if the woman he might select should be related to
him within the prohibited degrees of affinity, provided
only she was not the wife of somebody else. This power
was to be conceded to Henry before the declaration of
the invalidity of his marriage with Catherine. If
the pope would not grant so much, then Knight was
to ask that the king might have a dispensation to
marry immediately after the dissolution of the first
marriage.2 Moreover, he was to obtain a bull, dele-
gating for the time of the pope's captivity the whole
of his spiritual power to Cardinal Wolsey.3 To conceal
this mission Knight received another set of instruc-
tions which he was to show to Wolsey, ordering him
to act in accordance with the proceedings of the
cardinal's agents.
Knight left England early in September, and first September
proceeded to Compiegne, where he met Wolsey.4 12) 1527<
The latter, though not yet informed of the secret
1 J. Gairdner, Letters and Papers, vol. vi. p. ix. footnote.
2 Knight to Henry VIII., September 13, 1527, R.O. and State
Papers, vol. vii. p. 3.
3 Draft of Commission to Wolsey, British Museum, Cotton MSS.
Vitellius, B. ix. fol. 218, printed by N. Pocock, Records of the
Reformation, vol. i. No. XIII.
4 Knight to Henry VIII., September 12, 1527, R.O. and State
Papers, vol. vii. p. 1.
58 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. i. intrigue, was very little pleased with the secretary
whom Henry had chosen to negotiate with the pope.1
He feared that his own position would be rendered
even more difficult by Knight, whom he knew to be
totally unfit for such an errand. Still, he could not
prevent the secretary from leaving, and he had
to own that his own plan was impracticable. There
was a difficulty at the very beginning ; the cardinals
did not feel inclined to do Wolsey's bidding, and would
not go to Avignon.2
The cardinal was of course aware of Anne's inten-
tions ; they were no longer a secret to anybody. But
he seems to have retained his feeling of security, the
long empire which he had held over Henry's mind
having made him overbearing and blind to danger.
He believed himself to be indispensable to the king,
and was sure that he would not be dismissed. His
negotiations in France had now come to an end, the
August treaty of alliance which Francis desired having been
18, 1527. signed at Amiens ; and about the middle of September
Wolsey started for home.
September On his arrival in England he repaired on the 30th
20,1527. Of September to Eichmond, where the court was re-
siding. He sent in a gentleman to inquire of the
king where it would please his highness to receive
him. On such occasions it had been Henry's custom
1 Wolsey to Henry VIII., September 5, 1527, R.O. and State
Papers, vol. i. p. 267.
2 Cardinal Cibo to Cardinal Salviati July 27, 1527, Lettere
de' Principi, vol. ii. fol. 233 ; Cardinal Salviati to , August
17, 1527, Ibid. vol. ii. fol. 235 ; and Wolsey to Henry VIII.,
September 5, 1527, State Papers, vol. i. p. 270.
ANNE BOLEYN. 59
for many years to retire to a private room, where the CHAP. i.
cardinal met him alone, that they might be able to
speak freely. But now Anne Boleyn was nearly always
with the king ; she already ruled him in most matters
of detail, and had changed many an old custom. Wohey
When Wolsey's messenger met the king in the great s ig lte '
hall she was present. The man having delivered his
message, she broke in before the king could answer.
" And where else," she exclaimed, " is the cardinal to
come but here where the king is ? " Wolsey's servant,
not yet accustomed to the new fashions at court,
looked rather astonished, and waited for an answer
from the king. But Henry had no wish to contradict
the lady ; he confirmed what she had said, and the
cardinal was obliged to go to the hall. He found
the king dallying with Anne and chatting with his
favourites ; 1 and in their presence he had his first
audience, and could not of course transact any
business, or exert any influence on Henry. He was
taught that he was no longer the only person by
whom the king allowed himself to be ruled ; the days
of his absolute empire were gone.
There is no doubt that Wolsey deeply resented the
affront put upon him ; but he was prudent enough to
dissemble. He did not wish to irritate the king by
showing his anger at the treatment he had received ;
for he knew that Henry required from his courtiers
meek submission to any indignity he might inflict on
them. Nor did the cardinal wish to gratify his
1 Don Inigo de Mendoza to Charles V., October 26, 1527,
Vienna Archives, P.O. 224, No. 35 ; and Spanish Calendar, vol. iii.
part ii. p. 432.
60 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. i. enemies by an exhibition of his feelings. He kept
very quiet, and was soon rewarded, for Anne's
empire was not yet so complete that she could
hope to deprive Wolsey of all influence at once. The
cardinal was called to several private audiences with
the king, and professed much eagerness to serve
Henry in the matter of the divorce. He thereby
regained in part the confidence of his master, who
showed him a fair face and continued to leave to
him the chief management of affairs. Still, Wolsey
was not unmindful of the warning he had received ;
he indicated that he was ready to ally himself with
Anne and to help her to attain her end. Such was
the result which in a few months she had obtained.
CHAPTER II.
THE LEGATINE COURT.
IN forming an alliance for the purpose of further- CHAP. n.
ing the divorce of Henry, Anne and Wolsey did Alliance
not act in good faith towards each other. The true between
Anne ana
reason why Anne sought his aid was that she
found it impossible to win the battle with the
support of such friends as the Duke of Norfolk and
the Duke of Suffolk. She wanted the cardinal to
obtain the divorce, and thereby to prepare the way
for her own marriage with the king. The friend-
ship would then have been at an end ; Anne would
have turned against the cardinal as soon as she had
been proclaimed queen. Henry might still have been
ready to submit to Wolsey's rule, but Anne was of far
too imperious a temper to brook the authority of the
prime minister. Wolsey, on the other hand, saw how
much ground he had lost, and did not wish to excite the
enmity of so important a person as Anne. As he was
well aware that the divorce could not be obtained at
once, and as he thought with the rest of the court that
Anne was the king's mistress, he still expected the
passion of Henry to cool down long before he could be
62 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. ii. set free. If this anticipation proved to be correct, he
would be able to influence Henry either to give up the
demand for a divorce or to persevere, as might seem
to be most expedient. He continued to hope that, if
Catherine were divorced and Anne abandoned, he
might find an opportunity of selling his master's
alliance, and perhaps even his hand, for a yet higher
price than that which the French were actually
paying him.
The alliance between Wolsey and Anne was con-
cluded all the more quickly, because the former soon
after his return from France had learned the secret
of Knight's mission. He was informed of the contents
of the secretary's instructions, and discovered the
draft of a proposed bull of dispensation for bigamy.
This gave him an immediate advantage. He went to
Henry and explained how dangerous such an attempt
might be to the royal cause, since it would afford the
clearest proof that what the king really wanted was
to marry Anne, and that his scruples had their origin
in this wish. The pope, knowing the whole truth,
would scarcely dare to grant a dispensation, and even
if he did so, it would not have much authority with
the English people. Europe would cry shame on
the pope and on the king, and Henry would find
himself in so difficult a position that he might be
glad to escape from it by retracing every step he
had taken.
Henry felt the force of Wolsey 's arguments ; he was
cowed by his minister's firmness and decision. He
agreed that new instructions should be sent to Knight,
who had not yet reached Rome ; that the dispensation
ANNE BOLEYN. 63
for bigamy should be abandoned ; and that the pope CHAP, n.
should be asked only to commit the matter to a le- Henry
T-i-in T-kTT i 11 writes to
gatme court in England. But Henry, though he Knight.
followed the advice of his minister, did not do it
cheerfully or honestly. He never admitted to Wolsey
that he had all the time intentionally kept him in
the dark, and he now wrote to Knight asking him
not to let the cardinal know what had been done.
If Wolsey made any inquiries, Knight was to answer
that he had received his instructions after he had
left the cardinal at Amiens. Knight would receive Novem-
a new draft of a bull of dispensation — to be made 6r> l
use of only after the dissolution of the marriage
with Catherine — " which no man does know but
they which I am sure will never disclose it to no man
living for any craft the Lord Cardinal or any other
can find." This bull the secretary was entreated to
obtain as quickly as possible in due form, keeping it,
however, secret. A draft of a bull very like it
would be sent by the king and cardinal jointly, but
this was only pro forma.1
This letter, which Henry took the trouble to write
entirely with his own hand, is a very curious document.
It reads more like the composition of a schoolboy found
out by the master against whom he plots, than like the
letter of an absolute king, who might have dismissed
and ruined Wolsey at a moment's notice. It shows the
awe with which he regarded the cardinal, and the secret
but strong dislike he had for him. It shows how
eager and impatient he was to marry Anne, and how
1 Oxford, Corpus Christi College, MSS. cccviii. fol. 3, holo-
graph, published by E. L. Hicks in the Academy, March 15, 1879.
64 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. ii. confidently he believed that the divorce would be
shortly obtained. It shows how foolish, rash, and
weak Henry was, how entirely he depended on others
more capable and energetic than himself.
October, From Amiens Knight had first gone to Parma, in
the hope that he might reach Kome without further
difficulty. But the country was very unsafe, and as
his mission was to remain secret he could not apply to
the imperial generals for a safe-conduct, without which
November it was difficult to proceed. Finally he went to Foligno,
' whence he reported to the king what obstacles he had
found in his way.1 A few days later he received
Henry's letter, together with the new instructions
brought by John Barlow, chaplain to Lord Eochford.
Knight, who was ordered to proceed at all hazards to
November Rome, accordingly set out, and after some difficulty
was able to reach the city. But he could not gain
admittance to the castle of St. Angelo, where the pope
was still a prisoner; and he was warned that he had been
detected, and advised to be off at once. He therefore
Knight sent a memorial in writing to Clement and returned to
outwitted. F0i-[gno>2 ^ £ew <:[ays jater the pope was free, and
December the secretary hastened to meet him at Orvieto, where
he repeated the demands he had already made in
the memorial. On this occasion Knight seems to
have committed the grossest blunders and indiscre-
tions. He revealed what his instructions had origin-
ally been, and foolishly told the papal officials the
1 Knight to Henry VIII., November 4, 1527, State Papers,
vol. vii. p. 13.
2 Knight to Henry VIII., December 4, 1527, State Papers,
vol. vii. p. 16.
ANNE BOLEYN. 65
name of the person whom Henry wished to marry and CHAP. n.
what was the exact nature of the impediments.1 Details
so disgusting and showing so clearly the thorough bad
faith of Henry, and the utter hollowness of his
pretences of conscientious motives, could not but
influence the pope and his advisers against granting
the request. But Clement was not in a position to
refuse point-blank a demand made in so urgent a
manner by the King of England. He gave Knight
fair words ; but his chief minister Pucci, Cardinal of
Santi Quattro, an able lawyer and canonist, introduced
into the two documents the pope was to sign some
changes which made them of no force.2 The English
secretary was not able to detect the difference between
the two sets of papers ; he accepted the corrected
version, and left Orvieto convinced that he had
obtained everything that was wanted. On his way
home he once more met John Barlow, who brought
him fresh and more detailed instructions from Henry
and Wolsey. The secretary was so confident he had January
n 11598
succeeded that he did not return to Orvieto but
stopped at Asti, expecting high praise for his
cleverness.3
1 Dr. Ortiz to the Emperor, February 7, 1533, British Museum
Add. MSS. vol. 28,585, fol. 217 : " Y para poderse casar con esta
Ana es cierta verdad que a tiempo que embio a demandar dis-
pensacion a Su St. para poderse casar con ella no estante la afinidad
que entre ellos avie por aver mal usado de su hermana ..."
2 Knight to Wolsey, January 1, 1528, Burnet, Collectanea,
part i. book ii. No. 4.
3 Knight to Henry VIII., January 9 and 10, 1528, Pocock,
Records, vol. i. No. xxvii. and State Papers, vol. vii. p. 46 ;
Knight to Wolsey, January 9 and 10, 1528, Pocock, Records,
vol. i. No. xxviii., and Brewer, Letters and Papers, vol. iv. p. 1687.
VOL. I. F
66 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. IT. The poor secretary was grievously mistaken. He had
sent forward by a special courier the two briefs which
Clement had signed. They were handed to Wolsey,
who at once perceived their real meaning and was but
too glad to point out the flaws in them to the king.
The commission was worth nothing ; whatever Wolsey
might decree, appeal would still be permitted to the
pope, and the cardinal's judgment would have no
effect.1 And as the commission had been so cleverly
worded by Cardinal Pucci, it was clear that the pope
wished to retain the power of giving final judgment,
and meant, if convenient, to make use of it. Wolsey
was triumphant, for Knight, by allowing himself to be
duped so easily, had given signal proof that nobody
but the cardinal and his chosen agents were able to
carry on so difficult a negotiation. Henry and Anne,
thoroughly convinced of their incapacity to obtain
their end without Wolsey's help, gave themselves up
to his guidance and assented to all he proposed.
New Wolsey, having; now learned how strongly Henry
Embassy i -,. -, ,.
to the was bent on the divorce, thought it prudent to dis-
Pope' play some energy in support of his demand. Two
February new agents chosen by the cardinal were sent off to
19 1 P^9Q
Orvieto : Dr. Stephen Gardiner, hitherto chief secre-
tary to Wolsey, and Dr. Edward Foxe, of the royal
chapel. In order to gratify Anne, the two ambassadors
were ordered to take Hever on their way and to
communicate to her the tenor of their instructions.2
1 Wolsey to Gregorio da Casale, February 12, 1528, State
Papers, vol. vii. p. 50 ; Wolsey to Cardinal Santi Quattro,
Brewer, Letters and Papers, vol. iv. p. 1745.
2 Crapelet, Lettres de Henry VIII., Love Letter, No. xiv. p. 134.
ANNE BOLEYN. 67
The instructions were twofold. The ambassadors CHAP. n.
were to press the pope to give to Wolsey and to a
special legate such powers as would enable them to
pronounce final judgment of divorce ; and as Clement
might be prepossessed against Henry and attribute to
him unworthy motives, they were to dispel his mis-
apprehensions. The legate, so ran their instructions,
had heard that the king was supposed by the pope
to have undertaken this cause, not from fear of a
disputed succession, but out of vain affection or undue
love to a gentlewoman, not so excellent as she was
in England esteemed. The ambassadors were to
assure the pope that this was not the case ; that
Wolsey would never have favoured such a scheme.
On the one hand, the cardinal considered the marriage
of Henry with Catherine to be invalid, and the king
agreed with his opinion. On the other, " the approved
" excellent virtuous qualities of the said gentlewoman,
" the purity of her life, her constant virginity, her
" maidenly and womanly pudicity, her soberness,
" chasteness, meekness, humility, wisdom, descent
" right noble and high through regal blood, education
" in all good and laudable qualities and manners, ap-
" parent aptness to procreation of children, with her
" other infinite good qualities, more to be regarded
" and esteemed than the only progeny " explained
the king's desire to be quickly divorced, a desire
which Wolsey regarded as honest and necessary.1
Could there be anything more flattering and agree-
able to Anne ? Not only had the proud cardinal
1 Cardinal Wolsey to Gardiner and Foxe, Brewer, Letters and
Papers, vol. iv. p. 1741.
F 2
68 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. ir« been brought to praise her to the pope in the most
fulsome terms, he had declared that he approved
of the king's wish to marry her. No wonder
that Anne received the two ambassadors most
graciously, and that she declared herself quite
satisfied with the efforts made in her cause. Her
former agents were now discarded. Knight was
ordered to remain in France.1 Barlow, who at least
had committed no blunder, was to be rewarded for his
several journeys by the gift of the parsonage of
Sonridge, for which Lord Eochford and Anne inter-
ceded with Wolsey.2 All secret negotiations were for
the moment abandoned, and both Henry and Anne
manifested perfect confidence in the legate. He was
beginning to feel safe again, and thought that he
had regained his former position.
Apparent He was confirmed in this opinion by the success
success of ..^
the new which seemed to attend the mission 01 Jboxe and
embassy. Q.ar(jmer< rphe two ambassadors, after protracted
16, struggles, wrung from Clement such concessions as
made the case appear hopeful to those who were
unacquainted with the character of the pope and
the ways of the Eoman court. A joint commis-
sion was to be issued for Cardinal Campeggio and
Wolsey to hear and decide the cause in England.
Campeggio had been expressely chosen by Henry
and Wolsey as most favourable to the king. He was
1 Knight to Henry VIII., April 21, 1528, R.O. and Pocock,
Records of the Reformation, vol. i. No. Iv.
2 Lord Eochford to Wolsey, August 20, 1528, Brewer, Letters
and Papers, vol. iv. p. 2020 ; Anne Boleyn to Wolsey, Brewer,
Letters and Papers, vol. iv. p. 3166.
ANNE BOLEYN. 69
Cardinal Protector of England, an office worth several CHAP. n.
thousand ducats a year, and held the bishopric of Here-
ford in commend. He was therefore greatly depen-
dent on Henry's good-will, and had hitherto shown
himself a steadfast friend. It was hoped that in
this case too he would prove to be an obedient
servant of Henry, and give such sentence as the
king desired.1
As the good news of the continuous success of
"Wolsey's agents was received in England, Anne
loudly proclaimed her gratitude to the cardinal.
There was among the gentlemen of Henry's court a
certain Thomas Henneage, specially employed to wait
on mistress Anne, to whom he carried chosen dishes
from the royal table and little gifts from the king.
Many of his letters to Wolsey, containing sayings of
Anne and of Lady Eochford, her mother, have been
preserved. We learn from them that the cardinal and
Anne kept up a frequent correspondence, although
only a few letters of the lady have escaped destruction.
Anne's letters and the messages delivered by Henneage,
show that she was on most friendly terms with the
cardinal. She was always asking little services or
gifts from him. One day it is a morsel of tunny
she wants, another day a dish of carps or shrimps.
When she is for a time without some small re-
membrance of the kind Anne complains in the most
charming way, and expresses a fear that the cardinal
1 Henry VIII. to Cardinal Campeggio, Brewer, Letters and
Papers, p. 1740 ; Gardiner and Gregorio da Casale to Wolsey,
April 13, 1528, Pocock, Records of the Reformation, vol. i.
No. li.
70 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. ii. has forgotten her. There is no longer any trace of
opposition or of rivalry ; Anne decidedly acknowledges
the superiority of Wolsey, and is grateful for his
friendship and for the services he renders her.1
On the 2nd of May, 1528, Dr. Foxe returned to
England to report on the mission intrusted to him
May 3, and to Gardiner, and on the following day he arrived
at Greenwich, where the court was staying. His
presence having been announced to the king, he was
ordered to repair to the apartment of Mistress Anne.
He found her alone, and had time to explain to her
what endeavours had been made to obtain the appoint-
ment of the legates, praising his colleague Gardiner,
whose energy and zeal he extolled and whose most
hearty and humble commendations he transmitted.
Anne listened with pleasure, promised both Foxe and
Gardiner large recompense for the good service done
to her, and was evidently desirous of attaching two
such able and zealous men to her cause. While they
were talking Henry came in, and Anne left him alone
with Foxe to receive the report the latter had to
make. The king was delighted by what he heard ;
he called in Mistress Anne, and made Foxe repeat in
her presence all he had said. In further conversation
the doctor said the pope had been assured (so the
pope himself had told him) that Henry wished for
this divorce only in order to marry Mistress Anne,
and that such haste was made because she was already
with child, being a worthless person. At first Clement
had believed this, but after reading Wolsey 's letters he
1 T, Henneage to Wolsey, March 3 and 16, 1528, Brewer,
Jitters and Papers, vol. iv. pp. 1779 and 1806.
ANNE BOLEYN. 71
had entirely changed his mind, and he was now favour- CHAP. n.
ably inclined towards the king. An account which
was gladly accepted by both the king and the lady.
Foxe was not allowed to leave the royal presence Wohey
until late at night ; nevertheless, he was ordered to-
go straight to Durham Place in the Strand, where concession.
Wolsey lodged, and to show him the commission
granted by the pope. The cardinal saw immediately
that the document was not worth much more than the
bull obtained by Knight, since the pope retained the
right of pronouncing final judgment. But next morn-
ing, having weighed all the circumstances, he thought
it best to conceal his disappointment. Henry and
Anne were so highly elated by what they had heard
from Foxe, that if the truth had been told they would
have been greatly enraged. They might have sus-
pected the sincerity of the legate ; they might have
thought that he was making these difficulties only
in order to retard or prevent the divorce. All
the ground he had gained during the last six
months would thus have been lost, Anne would have
been violently hostile and Henry alienated. To
such a danger Wolsey dared not expose himself, and
in the afternoon, when Lord Eochford and Dr. Bell May 4,
came from Greenwich to confer with him, he declared
himself better satisfied with the commission.1 But he
wanted a papal decretal defining the question of law A papal
in a manner favourable to Henry's claim, so that the
legates would have to decide on nothing but on the
question of fact. Such a decretal Gardiner was now
1 Foxe to Gardiner, May 11, 1528, Pocock, Records, vol. i.
No. liii.
72 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. n. instructed to obtain, and he was to press for the
speedy departure of Campeggio.1
The The next six weeks Henry and Anne spent
'sickness, pleasantly enough at Greenwich. But in the middle
of June they were rudely torn asunder by a danger
they had not foreseen. The sweating sickness, a
peculiar epidemic disease, very contagious and rather
dangerous, had made its appearance, and on the
16th of June one of Anne's maids was taken ill with
it.2 The court broke up at once, and the king hastily
went to Waltham. However much he might like
the company of Anne, he feared infection even more,
and she did not accompany him, but retired to Hever.
Here she and her father, Lord Rochford,fell ill.3 Henry
by this time had gone to Hunsdon, six of his
attendants having shown symptoms of the disease
at Waltham; and from Hunsdon, he had written to
Anne asking her to leave Surrey, and to come to the
healthier northern side of the river. When he heard
of her illness,4 he was in great alarm, and at once
despatched Doctor Butts, his physician, to look after
father and daughter at Hever.5 To Anne he wrote
1 Foxe to Gardiner, May, 1528, Pocock, Records, vol. i. No. liv.
2 Du Bellay to Montmorency, June 18, 1528, Paris, Bibl. Nat.
MSS. Francis, vol. 3,077, fol. 71 ; and Le Grand, vol. iii. p. 129.
The abstract in Mr. Brewer's Letters and Papers is incorrect.
Du Bellay wrote : " Une des filles de chambre, Monsgr. de Madlle.
de Boulan se trouva mardi actainte de la suee."
3 T. Henneage to Wolsey, June 23, 1528, Brewer, Letters and
Papers, vol. iv. p. 1931.
4 Henry VIII. to Anne Boleyn, Crapelet, Love Letter No. iii.
p. 108, and Love Letter No. xii. p. 128.
5 Brian Tuke to Wolsey, June 23, 1528, Brewer, Letters and
Papers, vol. iv. p. 1931,
ANNE BOLEYN. 73
entreating her to follow the doctor's advice, hoping CHAP. n.
soon to have news of her amendment.1 His hope was
realised, for a few days later he received a message
that both father and daughter were out of danger.2
Henry now left Hunsdon, frequently changing his
abode until he finally settled at Tittenhanger, which
Wolsey had put at his disposal.3 Several of his
courtiers died, William Carey, the husband of Anne's
sister Mary, being one of them.4 But after a time
the epidemic subsided, and the king began to breathe
more freely, for the danger seemed past.5
The sweating sickness gave occasion to an incident TheAb-
which was very characteristic of the kind of influence Wilton.
exerted by Anne over the king. The abbess of the
convent of Wilton had died, and the choice of her April 24,
successor lay with Cardinal Wolsey. Among the can-
didates was a nun, Eleanor Carey, sister of William
Carey, Anne's brother-in-law.6 She was favoured by
the Boleyn family and by their friends. But Wolsey's
agents reported that Eleanor had led a dissolute life,
that she had several illegitimate children, and that she
was most unfit to be at the head of a convent. Wolsey
wished to appoint Dame Isabel Jordan, the prioress
of Wilton, an aged, sad, and discreet woman, but the
1 Henry VIII. to Anne, Crapelet, Love Letter No. xii. p. 128.
2 Brian Tuke to Wolsey, June 23, 1528, loc. cit.
3 J. Russell to Wolsey, June 28, 1528, Brewer, Letters and
Papers, vol. iv. p. 1938.
4 T. Henneage to Wolsey, June 23, 1528, Brewer, Letters and
Papers, vol. iv. p. 1,931.
5 Henry VIII. to Anne Boleyn, Crapelet, Love Letter No. xiii.
p. 130.
* T. Henneage to Wolsey, June 23, 1528, loc. cit.
74 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. ii. friends of Eleanor Carey raked up an old scandal,
pretending that the prioress had also in youth com-
mitted some offence against chastity, and they brought
the matter before Henry. As it was impossible to
deny Eleanor's guilt, the king did not wish to interfere
in her favour, but he decided that the office should
not be granted to her rival. This resolution was com-
municated to Wolsey by Dr. Bell, and to Anne by the
king himself.1
Wolsey disregarded the indirect message of Henry.
He had most probably already bound himself to
nominate Isabel Jordan, and, notwithstanding Dr.
Bell's letter, he signed the document appointing her.2
A few years before, the cardinal might have done
this with impunity, for Henry at that time did not feel
ashamed of the almost unlimited power he conceded
to his prime minister. The ladies whom he had
formerly courted had been so insignificant that they
had not attempted to awaken in him a spirit of
independence ; they had been dazzled by the splen-
dour of his nominal authority. Anne could not
be so easily imposed upon. Henry was well aware
of her penetration, and knew that she did not
mistake appearance for reality. She had often
spoken to him of his greatness, cleverly mixing
flattery with a veiled reproof that he did not exert his
power as much as he ought. Henry had made some
efforts to convince her that his will was supreme ; and
1 Henry VIII. to Anne Boleyn, Crapelet, Love Letter No. xiii.
p. 130; and Dr. Bell to Cardinal Wolsey, July 7, 1528, State
Papers, vol. i. p. 310.
2 Dr. Bell to Cardinal Wolsey, July 10, 1528, State Papers,
voL i. p. 313.
ANNE BOLEYN.
75
July,
1528.
she had affected to believe him, inciting him at the CHAP. n.
same time to act with even greater vigour. Now
this awkward move of Wolsey came to spoil every-
thing ; if it were not immediately condemned, it
would seem that the cardinal was more the sovereign
than Henry himself. Anne, even if she did not taunt
her lover with the disregard shown to his orders,
would silently rebuke him by showing that she was
vexed by what had happened ; and Henry would no
longer dare to brag of what he could do, since he
could not even prevent the nomination of an abbess.
So the king was greatly annoyed by Wolsey's
conduct, and expressed himself in rather strong terms.1
The cardinal, as soon as he heard of Henry's anger,
felt that he had committed a blunder. He hastened
to apologise in the most humble manner, saying that
he had not known the king's will.2 But this did not
pacify Henry, because Anne might complain that he
had deceived her and had taken no interest in the
cause she supported. Accordingly he sent to Wolsey
a lengthy and very strong reprimand, on the com-
position of which he apparently bestowed great pains.
Before sending off the letter, he read it to Anne's
friend, Thomas Henneage, and to Sir John Russell.
Whether he sent a copy to Anne is uncertain ;
but, if not, Henneage was expected, no doubt, to
give her a full account of it.3 Quoting some words
1 Dr. Bell to Wolsey, July 10, 1528, loc. cit. ; and T. Henneage
to Wolsey, July 11, 1528, State Papers, vol. i. p. 315.
2 Henry VIII. to Wolsey, Fiddes, Life of Cardinal Wolsey,
Appendix, p. 174.
3 T. Henneage to Wolsey, July 14, 1528, State Papers, vol. i.
p. 316.
76 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. ir. from Dr. Bell's letter, the king declared that the
cardinal had been perfectly apprised of his wish,
and wound up by speaking of the bad behaviour of
Wolsey's officials and of the frequent bribes he received
from religious communities.1 Wolsey thereupon un-
reservedly admitted the truth of all that Henry had
said, and humbly begged the king's pardon. This was
enough : Henry was cleared before Anne ; and, having
shown that he was quite able to humiliate his minister,
he now graciously accorded entire forgiveness.2 Isabel
Jordan remained abbess, and the matter was allowed
to drop.3
Anne's Anne herself had not actively interfered in this
^o Wolsey. affair. She had continued to write amiably to the
cardinal, declaring in a letter from Hever that the
king and he were the two persons for whom she
cared most. When, after her recovery, towards the
end of July, she joined the court at Ampthill, she
wrote to him again in most flattering terms, and,
showing her letter to the king, insisted that he should
add a postscript to it.4 She wished it to be known
that she was Wolsey's friend and using her influence
in his favour. It was already probable that by the
1 Henry VIII. to Wolsey, Fiddes, Appendix, p. 174.
1 Henry VIII. to Wolsey, Lord Herbert of Cherbury, Life
of Henry VIII. p. 67 ; and Wolsey to Henry VIII., State Papers,
vol. i. p. 317.
3 Isabel Jordan to Wolsey, Brewer, Letters and Papers, vol. iv.
p. 1978; and Thomas Benet to Wolsey, July 18, 1528, State
Papers, i. p. 314.
4 Anne Boleyn to Wolsey, Burnet, History of the Reformation,
vol. i. p. 56 \ and Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII. to Wolsey,
ibid. p. 55.
ANNE BOLEYN. 77
force of circumstances Wolsey's power would decline, CHAP. n.
and Anne may have been unwilling to risk a battle
and the loss of a useful ally, when she was pretty sure
that time would rid her of her rival. Wolsey,
misled by her apparent friendliness, allowed himself
to drift into danger and ruin.
During the autumn of 1528 Anne was sometimes at Anne's
court, sometimes at one or other of her father's Absence
country houses. She did not wish to be constantly from
with the king, as her position was still rather difficult ;
and there seemed to be some danger that if he saw
her constantly his passion for her might cool. By
remaining away for a few weeks occasionally, she
kept up his ardour and made her position more easy.
Moreover, Campeggio was at last on his way to
England to sit as judge in the divorce cause, and it
was not considered advantageous to parade Anne
before the Italian legate. Campeggio might retain
some feeling of decency, and object to have the real
cause of Henry's conscientious scruples flaunted before
his eyes. A certain degree of decorum was to be
practised a little longer.
Campeggio was bringing the decretal which Wolsey
had asked for. With the law expounded in a manner
favourable to the king, it seemed scarcely doubtful decretal
that the divorce would be granted. But Clement,
though he had allowed himself to be bullied into
this extreme concession, had maintained one point.
The decretal was to remain with Campeggio ; he
might communicate its contents to Henry and Wolsey,
but the document itself was not to pass into their Jung
possession. Campeggio had left Eome in June 1528 1528.'
78 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. ii. for Orvieto to receive the decretal and the last in-
structions of the Pope.1 Some galleys having been
obtained from the French commanders, the cardinal
embarked at Corneto on the 24th of July, crossed
over to Provence, and arrived towards the end of
August at Lyons.2 On the 8th of September he was at
Orleans, and on the 14th made his entry into Paris.3
On the 18th he left Paris, pressed by the English
agents to make haste, but owing to unfavourable winds
and to fits of gout he did not reach London before
October
8,1528. the 8th of October.4
Policy of So much obloquy has been thrown on Clement VII.
emen ^ ^.g ]3e]iavjour jn ^he matter of the divorce that
it is necessary to inquire whether he was guilty of all
the offences laid to his charge. His policy has been
compared with that of the great popes of the middle
ages ; but such a comparison cannot hold good, for
the mediaeval popes found themselves in totally diffe-
rent circumstances. Gregory VII. was the champion
of great ideas, of reforms approved of by the vast
majority of believers ; and his chief adversary was a
1 Italian News, June 13, 1528, Brewer, Letters and Papers,
vol. iv. p. 1916.
2 Instructions to Sir Francis Bryan, August, 1528, Brewer,
Letters and Papers, vol. iv. p. 2024 ; and T. Clerk and Taylor to
Wolsey, August 31, 1528, Brewer, Letters and Papers, vol. iv.
p. 2031.
3 Campeggio to Jaeopo Salviati, September 16, 1528, Theiner,
Vetera Monumenta ffibernorum, p. 567 ; and T. Clerk and Taylor
to Wolsey, Brewer, Letters and Papers, vol. iv. p. 2053.
4 T. CJerk to Wolsey, and T. Clerk to Gardiner, September 18,
1528, Brewer, Letters and Papers, vol. iv. pp. 2060 and 2062 ;
and Cardinal Campeggio to Jacopo Salviati, October 17, 1528,
Theiner, Vetera Monumenta, p. 570.
ANNE BOLEYN. 79
wayward emperor, opposed by strong vassals and CHAP. n.
rival sovereigns. Besides, Gregory was not entirely
successful. He and his immediate successors, during
their struggles with the empire, laid the foundations
of those powers which were to ruin their work.
Gregory VII. and his successors, in order to fight
the emperor, were obliged to buy the alliance of the
kings of France, England, and Spain by considerable
concessions, and they thereby helped to strengthen the
royal authority in those countries. In order to with-
stand the imperial cause in Italy, they befriended the
petty princes, the lords and the towns. They aided
every rebel, until the spirit of revolt spread to
Eome itself; and then the popes had to take shelter
in France, where they became dependent on the good
will of the French kings. Meanwhile, the Italian
republics and small states consolidated their power ;
and with political freedom and growing wealth a spirit
of research and inquiry arose which led to the founda-
tion of numerous schools. Learning ceased to be a
privilege of the clergy ; it could be got elsewhere
than in the cloister ; it took a decidedly secular turn.
Lay lawyers began to be appointed to many of those
places in the political world which for centuries had
been held almost exclusively by clergymen. From
Italy the new movement passed to the rest of
western Europe, and during the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries universities were founded in
Germany, France, Spain, and England, and soon
trained a sufficient number of scholars to fill the
public offices. Kings availed themselves of these
facilities to form good administrations. With the
80 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. ii. help of the lawyers, they enlarged their own functions
and curtailed those of the barons, and at the close
of the fifteenth century three remarkable men — each
in his own kingdom — put an end to the mediaeval
system of government. Louis XL in France,
Ferdinand the Catholic in Spain, and Henry VII. in
England established the royal authority on so strong
a basis that for a while no attempt to resist it
could prove successful. The power of the barons
was broken, and these three kings ruled almost
directly and absolutely over all their subjects.
The increase of strength which the royal power
received in France, England, and Spain was all the
greater because no effective safeguard had as yet been
invented against the abuse of it, and because, the
malpractices of the barons being so recent and so
well remembered, people loyally adhered to the
crown as a means of escape from feudal tyranny.
Kings who found themselves in so advantageous a
position were not much inclined to allow any other
power to have sway in their dominions. The inde-
pendence of the Church was soon as little to their taste
as the independence of the barons had been. Louis XL
renewed the Pragmatic Sanction, which had fallen
into desuetude, and Francis I. concluded the Con-
cordat, which made the clergy even more dependent
on the royal will. Ferdinand firmly maintained
his right to rule the Church in Sicily, to the Monar-
chia as it was called, and — notwithstanding papal
protests — used the royal central inquisition in a way
diametrically opposed to the wishes of the Eoman
court. When the pope fulminated censures against
ANNE BOLEYN. 81
him, Ferdinand threatened with death any person who CHAP. n.
should dare to publish the papal mandate ; and the
pope, powerless to hurt the king, had to give way.
So low had the papacy sunk, so little was its authority
regarded.
The rise of these great national monarchies led to
the manifestation of a new spirit of patriotism.
People began to feel very strongly as Frenchmen and
Germans, as Englishmen and Italians. This national
spirit was of course opposed to any foreign authority ;
and when heresiarchs in Germany and Switzerland
denounced the vices, the greed, and the arrogance of
Eome, they commanded immediate attention, and
soon obtained the support of some of the most im-
portant German princes. The Eoman Church had
become so unpopular with all but Italians that the
ground was ready to receive the seed.
The difficulties of the papacy were increased by the
political changes which took place in Europe after the
death of Ferdinand of Aragon. Up to the end of
the fifteenth century several great European powers,
France, Spain, the Empire, Burgundy, balanced each
other, while the second-rate states, England, Hungary,
Venice, Naples, occupied an independent and in-
fluential position. This balance had now been de-
stroyed ; there were but two great powers striving for
absolute ascendency : the Empire and France. Of
the second-rate powers, Naples had been annexed to
Spain, Burgundy had been divided, the power of
Venice had been broken, while Bohemia and Hungary
were soon to fall to the house of Austria. In 1520
the struggle between Charles and Francis had broken
VOL. i. G
82 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. ii. out ; the following year found it in full blaze ; and
nearly every state of western Europe took one side
or the other.
Had the pope held aloof from the conflict, he would
have angered both parties. Leo X., obliged to act
with one of the two sovereigns, decided to act with
the emperor.
The old pretensions of the pope to stand above
the emperor had long been abandoned in all but
outward form ; there was no rivalry on this account.
On the contrary, the emperor, who wanted to re-
constitute the universal Christian republic, of which
he was to be the secular chief, seemed the natural
ally of the universal Christian Church against heretics
and schismatics, against those who claimed national
independence. The interests of the pope and the
emperor were in so many respects almost identical
that Leo's choice was inevitable.
Adrian VI. followed Leo's policy, and Clement,
when he ascended the throne, was bound by treaties
to assist the emperor. At first he kept his
obligations tolerably well, but after a time, listening
to the advice of visionary counsellors, in an evil hour
for the Church, he allowed his Italian patriotism to
overrule his better judgment. He began to oppose,
first secretly, then openly, the policy of the emperor.
Charles, at the height of his power, was not the
man to forgive such resistance. The Colonna, his
adherents, entered Kome and spent several days in
plundering it. As this had not the desired effect
of frightening the pope into submission, Bourbon
led his soldiers against the Eternal City, and the result
ANNE BOLEYN. 83
was the sack of Kome. Clement found himself shut CHAP. n.
up a prisoner in St. Angelo, and it was only after
paying a heavy ransom that he was allowed to
escape to Orvieto.
Here he had leisure to reflect on the difficulties of
his situation. Even a stronger man than Clement
might have been appalled by them. The allegiance of
the emperor to the Church seemed well nigh lost.
His German and Spanish soldiers had acted out-
rageously in Eome ; and neither the German nor the
Spanish clergy had shown themselves greatly shocked
by the insult offered to the Holy See, while the people
of Charles's dominions received the news with pleasure
rather .than with pain.
Charles — -it must be remembered- — had been brought
up by his grandfather Maximilian, and had been
imbued by him with very fantastic and exaggerated
notions about the imperial dignity and power. It was
not impossible that he might do as some of his
predecessors on the imperial throne had done : call
a Council, and with its assistance depose the pope.
Clement knew that to withstand such an assertion of
imperial authority he would have to rely on the help
of Francis I., Henry VIII., and the princes of the
Italian League. But the devotion of the kings of
France and England to the Holy See was less ardent
than he could have wished. The French clergy
adopted a very independent tone, Francis jealously
guarded his new privileges, and politically he did very
little for the pope. Henry VIII. , indeed, had for years
shown himself a zealous champion of the Holy See ;
but he had done so only on the tacit understanding
G 2
84 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. n. that the whole government of the Church in his
states was to be left to him and his ministers, the
Holy See simply enjoying a few revenues.
Clement could not but fear that if he threw himself
entirely on the alliance with Francis and Henry, he
would lose his independence. He foresaw that they
would wring from him every possible concession,
and that he would soon be regarded as their
tool. Such a position he would not accept ; he
preferred to attempt to regain his power even at the
cost of great inconvenience, labour, and danger to
himself.
The policy which Clement now adopted was
entirely suited to his temper and abilities. He
resolved to forgive past offences, and to come to
terms with Charles, but at the same time secretly to
throw as many difficulties as possible in his way.
For Charles V. in difficulties might prove a more
obedient son of the Church than Charles V. triumph-
ant ; if the emperor were hard pressed by his enemies,
he would probably set a higher value on the friendship
and favour of the Holy See. The pope might then
become the mediator and umpire between the con-
tending parties, and re-establish much of his lost
authority.
The steps taken by Henry in the matter of the
divorce seemed most convenient for Clement's purpose,
for Charles could not but be anxious to obtain the
assistance of the pope in favour of his aunt. Like
other people, Clement thought that the passion of
Henry for Anne Boleyn would not last, and that
after a time he would either abandon his demand
ANNE BOLEYN. 85
for a divorce or acquiesce in a sentence declaring the CHAP. n.
validity of his marriage. Clement supposed, therefore,
that at first, without committing himself too far, he
might safely show some favour to Henry's views.
In consequence of this policy the breach between
the empire and the papacy was well nigh healed ; but
unhappily the English business became more , difficult
than had been expected. Henry did not give up his
purpose ; Wolsey, instead of acting as the pope
expected his legate to act, entirely sided with the
king ; and both insisted on the mission of Campeggio
with exorbitant powers to the legates. These powers
Clement was very loath to grant, for he dreaded the
revival of Charles's hostility. On the other hand, he
was afraid to exasperate Henry, or to anger his mighty
patron the king of France. Threats of open rebellion
against his authority filled him with alarm ; he dared
not face such a danger. As long as he was not quite
certain of the lasting allegiance of Charles, he saw
that it would be folly to come to an open rupture
with the party united against the emperor. He
could not run the risk of losing the obedience of both.
Clement did all he could to gain time and to evade
an absolutely binding act. He invented every kind
of excuse for delay, hoping that in the interval he
might make quite sure of Charles, draw Francis away
from Henry, and persuade the latter to abandon his
design. The first two of these objects he attained ;
in the third he failed, because he was hampered by
perplexities which rendered success impossible.
In the treatment of Henry's claim Clement could
never strike out the bold and honest line which Bishop
86 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. ii. Fisher, John Clerk, Bishop of Bath, and some of the
Lutheran divines adopted. Clerk had the courage to
declare that the passage in Leviticus does not refer to
the widow of a late but to the wife of a living
brother, that it does not relate to a marriage but only
emphasises the prohibition against adultery in a case
where it seems particularly shocking, that the
prohibition of canon law is consequently not based
upon the passage and can derive no authority from
the Bible. Fisher agreed with Clerk;1 but this
the pope could not do.
The revolt of the Lutherans had in part been
caused by the system of clerical exactions, many
innocent acts having been declared sinful in order
that the clergy might obtain money and influence
by granting dispensations or giving absolution.
Lutherans assailed the canon law as a fabric which
had been reared independently of the Bible, while
Catholic divines tried to prove that the teaching of
the Bible formed the basis of the whole structure.
In a case of dispensation, therefore, the pope could
not speak out as freely as he would have liked ; he
could not, by admitting that one part of the canon
law differed from the Bible, endanger every other part
of it, and thereby furnish new weapons to the heretics,
He was a Eoman priest, the chief of the Eoman clergy,
and as such he could not make any concession that
might imperil the supremacy of Eome.
Embarrassed by these difficulties, Clement lied
and shuffled a good deal ; he did not stand up
1 Examination of John Fisher, Record Office, Henry VIII.,
Box Q, 155.
ANNE BOLEYN. 87
boldly for that which he thought to be right. But CHAP. n.
he was influenced much more by regard for the wel-
fare of the Church of which he was the head than by
fear for his personal safety or by apprehension of
another sack of Koine. And in one respect he was
successful. Though the north of Germany was lost
to Eome, though England was alienated, Clement
contrived to retain the allegiance both of the emperor
and of the king of France. By sacrificing a part
of the dominion of the Church he saved the rest
and consolidated its power.
CHAPTER III.
THE DEATH OF WOLSEY.
WHEN Cardinal Campeggio took leave of the pope
^Mission, at Orvieto, Henry seemed to have a fairly good
June, prospect of success. Charles V. had not yet been
reconciled to the Holy See, the pope was still excluded
from his capital, and three of the cardinals remained
as hostages at Naples. Nevertheless, true to his pur-
pose, Clement instructed Campeggio to act with the
greatest caution. Henry and Charles being at enmity,
it was now the principal object of the pope to avoid
being drawn into the strife. Campeggio, therefore,
was first to try to reason Henry out of his purpose,
and if this failed he was to ask the queen to give up
her rights by entering a convent, in which case the
pope was prepared to dispense for bigamy. If the
queen would not give way, he was to delay as much
as possible the opening of the court.1
Success of While Campeggio was on his way, a great change
in Italy. Pasged over the political situation in Italy. An army
raised by authority of the empire had entered
1 Cardinal Campeggio to Jacopo Salviati, June 21, 1529,
Brewer, Letters and Papers, vol. iv. p. dclxx. ; and Giovanni da
Casale to Wolsey, December 17, 1528, Burnet, Collectanea,
part ii. book ii. No. xvii.
ANNE BOLEYN. 89
Lombardy for the purpose of defending it against the CHAP. in.
inroads of the French. Though the commander, the j^
Duke of Brunswick, did not act in concert with 1528-
Antonio de Leyva, Charles's general, the latter was
enabled by the presence of the German force to
prevent the Count of Saint Pol from marching to
Naples. The army which under Lautrec had invaded
Naples and laid siege to the capital, was thus placed
in a bad position, which was rendered still worse
when Andrea Doria, angered by some slight put upon
him by the French, went over with his galleys to July 19,
the emperor. The French army suffered greatly from
heat and privations ; large numbers, among them
Lautrec himself, died of disease ; the remnant, cut off
from their line of retreat, were made prisoners by the August
very men whom they had just besieged. 28' 1528'
Although success once more attended Charles's Charles V.
armies, his behaviour towards the Holy See remained
as conciliatory as it had been during the time when
his prospects seemed darkest. He continued to carry
on negotiations with the pope, the imperial agents
being instructed to make moderate demands. More-
over, the emperor and his brother Ferdinand began
to support the Holy See more energetically in
Germany ; they opposed the clamour for a national
council, which might have led to the overthrow
of the papal power in the whole kingdom. Charles's
policy presented a striking contrast to that of
Francis and Henry. The French during their
short period of success had never done anything
in favour of the pope. They had attempted to
conquer Naples for their king, but they had not
90 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. thought fit either to drive the Imperialists out of the
papal fortresses or to restore those papal towns their
allies had occupied. Henry's agents had threatened
the pope with open rebellion, and both French and
English were constantly pressing him to accept a
guard of soldiers, which, as Clement knew, would be a
band of disguised gaolers. The pope therefore wished
more than ever to secure the friendship of the em-
peror, and sent message after message to warn
Campeggio not to take any definite step.1
Cam- The legate on his arrival — acting according to his
peg&o instructions — tried first of all to dissuade Henry
England, from his purpose. His representations, however,
October were met with long theological arguments ; Henry
3> ' 2 ' was proud to show his learning, and would not listen
to the counsels of Campeggio. An attempt to
shake the queen's fortitude having equally failed,
the cardinal had to follow the third course — to
procrastinate and to hold back as much as possible.2
The This was taken very ill by the king. Campeggio
showed the decretal to Henry and Wolsey, as he had
been directed to do, but he refused to part with it
or even to communicate its contents to the royal
council. A document which was to remain secret
was of little use ; the pope might not, after all, con-
sider himself bound by it. To obtain possession of the
decretal became, therefore, one of the chief aims of
the royal policy. A messenger was sent in hot haste
1 G. B. Sanga to Cardinal Campeggio, September 2 and 16,
1528, Porcacchi, Letter -e di XIII. huomini illustri, pp. 39 and 41.
2 Cardinal Campeggio to G. B. Sanga, October 17, 1528,
Laemmer, Monumenta Vaticana, No. xxii.
ANNE BOLEYN. 91
to Sir Gregory Casale, Henry's agent with the pope, CHAP. m.
with orders that he should insist on the decretal
being handed to Wolsey, that it might be shown to
a few members of the council.1 If this had been
done, of course the decretal would not have been
returned to Campeggio as Henry promised ; it would
have been carefully kept as a weapon against the
vacillations of Clement.
Sir Gregory received Henry's orders at Bologna. November,
Being ill, he sent his brother, John Casale, to the
pope to present the royal request. Clement at once
detected the trap laid for him, and was greatly
angered by the demand. He refused, saying he would
give one of his fingers not to have signed the decretal :
Campeggio ought to have burnt it as soon as it had
been shown to Henry and Wolsey.2 A few days later
Sir Gregory himself, having recovered, went to Eome,
but he also was unable to shake the pope's resolution.
Sir Gregory thereupon sent his brother Vincent to
England to give an account of the whole case to the
king, while the pope despatched his most confidential December
secretary, Francesco Campana, nominally to explain 15» 152a
to Henry why his request could not be complied
with, in reality to tell Campeggio to destroy the
dangerous document without delay.3
1 Wolsey to Gregorio da Casale, November 1, 1528, State
Papers, vii. p. 102.
2 Giovanni da Casale to Wolsey, December 17, 1528, Burnet,
Collectanea, part i. book ii. No. xviii.
3 F. Bryan and P. Yanni to Wolsey, December 28, 1528,
British Museum, Cotton MSS. Vitellius, b. x. 186 ; and Cardinal
Campeggio to Jacopo Salviati, Jane 21, 1529, Brewer, Letters
and Papers, vol. iv. p. dclxx.
92 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. Before Campana reached London a new incident
Causes of occurred. A brief had been found in Spain, addressed
Delay. ky Julius II. to Henry and Catherine, different from
the bull of dispensation for their marriage and
remedying in a way its pretended defect. A certified
November, copy was now produced in England before the two
15 8' legates.1 Henry at once asserted that the brief must
be a forgery, but Campeggio was not so easily per-
suaded. That Henry did not believe the document to
be a forgery is amply shown by the attempts he made
to obtain possession of it. Charles refused to give
April, it up, Clement declined to declare it a forgery
without seeing it, and the brief had to be considered
genuine.2
The cause was retarded by another circumstance.
After the complete overthrow of the French army in
Naples, the pope had returned to Rome. Here he had
several attacks of rheumatic fever, one of which was so
severe that he was reported to be dead, and the rumour
reached London. By Clement's death the powers
conferred on Wolsey and Campeggio would have
terminated ; no progress was made with the cause,
1 Julius II. to " Dilecto filio Heinrico Charmi in Chro filii nri
Henrici Anglie Regis 1111 nato 1110 et dilecte in Chro filie Catherine
Charmi et in Chr° filii nri Ferdinandi Regis et Charme in chr° filie
nre Elizabeth Regine Hispaniarum et Sicilie Catholicorum Nate
1116," December 26, 1503, Vienna Archives, P.C. 228, iv. No. 1 ;
and Don Inigo de Mendoza to Charles V., November 18, 1528,
Vienna Archives, P.C. 226, i. No. 15.
2 P. Vanni to Henry VIII., March 28, 1529, State Papers,
vol. vii. p. 154 ; and G. B. Sanga to Cardinal Campeggio, April 10,
1529, Porcacchi, Letter e di XIII. huomini illustri, p. 63. As to
the authenticity of the brief see Note C. in the Appendix.
ANNE BOLEYN. 93
therefore, until it was known that the pope had CHAP. m.
recovered. All the ingenuity of Campeggio could
then serve no longer, he was at last obliged to open
the legatine court. But another disagreeable incident
happened which Henry and Wolsey had not foreseen.
The draft of the papal commission kept at the British
Museum is addressed to Wolsey and Campeggio ; 1
and as the English cardinal was of older creation than
his Italian colleague it was natural that it should be
so addressed. It appears, however, from the minute
of the proceedings that the address was changed.
Campeggio and Wolsey being commissioned, the
former insisted on presiding,2 and he was thereby
enabled to procrastinate even more until he should
hear from the pope.
The proceedings of the court are well known. The Proceed-
first sitting was held on the 18th of June at Black- *%$&£
friars. At the second sitting, on the 21st, Catherine Court-
objected to Wolsey as a judge and to England as the
place of trial, and declared that she had appealed to
the pope. Campeggio, hard pressed by Henry and
Wolsey, dared not accept Catherine's protest, and the
proceedings went on ; but before judgment could be
given, on the 23rd of July, he prorogued the court July 23,
under the pretext that this was the time of vacation
at Eome.3
Anne watched closely the course of events during
1 Commission of June 8, 1528, Cotton MSS. Yitellius, B. x.
97, and Pocock, Records, vol. i. p. 167.
2 Procedure in Divorce Court, June 21, 1529, Pocock, Records,
vol. i. p. 223.
3 Procedure in Divorce Court, Pocock, Records, vol. i. pp.
206—211, and 216—231.
94 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. these eventful days. It is clear from one of Henry's
Anne letters to her that, better informed than the king,
dlCam-S s^e distrusted Campeggio even before he reached
peggio. the English shore.1 When the legate, shortly after
his arrival, showed that he was no obedient tool of
the king, her suspicions increased. By-and-by, especi-
ally after she received reports of the pope's change of
attitude, she became convinced that there was but
little probability of a favourable verdict being given
by Campeggio. This she ascribed in part to secret
machinations of Wolsey — who was supposed to dis-
approve of the claim for divorce — in part to the in-
fluence of the imperial party at Eome. She felt
that if her cause was to triumph she would hence-
forward have to rely on her own efforts, as the means
Wolsey had proposed and to which he still tena-
ciously clung were inadequate. But since the autumn
of 1527 she had gained considerable experience, and
had been able to attach a good many men to her
fortunes, foremost of all the energetic and able secre-
tary of Wolsey, Dr. Stephen Gardiner. The cardinal
was left with scarcely a friend, exposed to the malice
of his enemies, who were made bolder every day by
the prospect of his disgrace.2
Stephen Gardiner, who in January had been sent a second
ier' time to Eome to assist the English ministers there,
June 22, returned to England on the 22nd of June.3 He had
1529.
1 Crapelet, Henry to Anne Boleyn, Love Letter No. xvii. p. 140.
2 Jean du Bellay to Anne de Montmorency, September 18,
1529, Legrand, vol. iii. fol. 354, &c.
3 Cardinal Campeggio to J. Salviati, June 24, 1529, Theiner,
Vetera Monumenta, p. 584.
ANNE BOLEYN. 95
now a chief share of Henry's favour. A week after CHAP. m.
the prorogation of the legatine court, when the news
was received that on the 13th of July the pope, con- juiy 13,
trary to a secret promise made in July, 1528, had
revoked the commission to the legates and decided
that the cause should be tried at Rome, Gardiner was July 28,
made chief secretary to the king.1 Both Henry and 1529'
Anne thought they had found in him a man who
might be advantageously substituted for Wolsey ;
and from this moment the king no longer cared
for his former favourite and prime minister. Anne, Wolsey in
Gardiner, her adherents, and those peers who were
not personally favourable to Catherine, formed an
alliance to bring down the cardinal. Articles were
framed against him, and everybody expected to see
his early ruin.
Contrary to the general anticipation, a short respite
was granted to the unhappy victim. His enemies,
indeed, prevented him from regaining his influence by
the exercise of the power he knew so well how to
use in personal intercourse with the king. Henry,
attended by Anne and Gardiner, went hunting about
the country, and Wolsey's requests to be allowed to
repair to the royal presence were evaded or refused.
But outwardly his position was unchanged, and no
open attack upon it was allowed.
Wolsey's doom was postponed because it was still
hoped that by his means the divorce might be secured.
Cardinal Campeggio, after having received due notice
1 Mi§er May to Charles V., August 4, 1529, British Museum,
Add. MSS. 28,579, fol. 20 ; and Gardiner to Yanni, July 28, 1529,
Brewer, Letters and Papers, vol. iv. p. 2591.
96 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. that his powers had been revoked, prepared to return
Septeriiber to Eome. On the 19th of September he presented
19, 1529. himseif at Grafton to take leave of the king. With
some difficulty Wolsey had obtained permission to ac-
company his colleague, and to the astonishment of
the courtiers Henry received both in the most
gracious manner. He had a long conversation with
"Wolsey, treating him with the greatest kindness. On
the following morning, however, the king went out
early to hunt, and Wolsey saw him no more, but had
to return with Campeggio to London.1 On the 5th
of October the Italian cardinal left and proceeded by
October 8, slow journeys to Dover, which he reached on the 8th.2
If29' Here the royal officers of the custom-house seized
Cam- J
peggio's his luggage, and, notwithstanding his passport and
searched. hig quality of legate, broke open the chests and
subjected everything to a minute search.3
This was not an act of mere stupid insolence, nor did
the king intend simply to punish Campeggio for his
disinclination to proceed with the case. The incident
was a part of a well pondered plan. Henry and
Anne thought that the famous decretal might still be
in Campeggio's possession, and that on strict search
1 Thomas Alward to Thomas Cromwell, September 23, 1529,
British Museum, Cotton MSS. Vitellius, B. xii. 173, printed by
EUis, first series, i. 307.
2 Cardinal Campeggio to Jacopo Salviati, October 7, 1529,
Theiner, Vetera Monumenta, p. 587.
3 Henry VIII. to Cardinal Campeggio, October 22, 1529,
Brewer, Letters and Papers, vol. iv. p. 2677 ; and E. Chapuis to
Charles V., October 25, 1529, Vienna Archives, P.C. 226, i.
No. 23, printed by Bradford, Correspondence of Charles F. Carlo
Sigonio, in his Life of Cardinal Campeggio, gives a highly coloured
account of this affair, but adduces no authority.
ANNE BOLEYN. 97
it might be discovered among his luggage. Had this CHAP. m.
been the case, Campeggio would have been allowed
— if necessary, even obliged — to depart ; Wolsey
would have received orders to reopen the legatine
court ; and as the commission gave power to the
legates together, or to either of them separately,
the cardinal would not have dared to disobey.
Any protests of Catherine would have been met by
producing the decretal and the pope's written
promise not to revoke the powers of the legates.
Wolsey would have proceeded to give judgment in
favour of Henry, and the trick would have been
successfully played. Such, from all the circumstances,
seems to have been the plan of Henry and his ad-
visers ; but it was frustrated, for the decretal had been
destroyed after the arrival of Campana in January.
York herald, who had accompanied Campeggio, rode
post haste to London with the woful tidings that the
document could not be found.1 This sealed Wolsey 's
doom ; there was no longer any reason for sparing
him. The same day on which the news was received October 9,
Christopher Hales, the king's attorney, preferred a 1529*
bill against him for prsemunire ; shortly afterwards,
on the 17th of October, he was deprived of the seals ; October
and his committal to the Tower was daily expected.2 l ' 1529'
For a moment Wolsey lost courage, and sat weeping
1 Accounts of Bryan Tuke, Gairdner, Letters and Papers,
vol. v. p. 315.
2 Bill of Indictment, Brewer, Letters and Papers, vol. iv.
p. 2686 ; Memorandum of the Surrender of the Great Seal,
Rymer, Fcedera, xiv. p. 349 ; and G. Cavendish, Life of Cardinal
Wolsey, p. 251.
VOL. I. H
98 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. and lamenting his misfortunes. He probably over-
rated the danger to which he was exposed ; for
Henry, who had not yet made up his mind to come
to an open rupture with Rome, and who hoped still
to induce Charles V. and Clement to accede to his
requests, would scarcely have dared to lay hands on
a cardinal. Nor would he have embittered the strife
by pushing on a prosecution for prsemunire for the
exercise of legatine powers in England. But Wolsey
dreaded the worst, and tried to save himself by com-
plete submission. He acknowledged that he had been
guilty of an offence which he had never committed,
and sought to conciliate his most powerful enemies
by heavy bribes ; granting pensions on the bishopric
of Winchester to Norfolk, George Boleyn, and the
friends of Anne,1 and giving up to the king all his
movable property, all pensions or money due to him,
October and the palace of York Place at Westminster be-
22, 1529. }onging to the archbishopric.2 Thoroughly humbled
and stripped of his wealth, he was allowed to retire
to Esher to spend the winter without further
molestation.3
A new Immediately after the disgrace of the cardinal, his
9ment~ enemies set themselves to form a new government.
formed. There was some rivalry about the first place. The
Duke of Suffolk had been foremost in the attack
1 Grant to G. Boleyn, R.O., Brewer, Letters and Papers, vol. iv.
p. 2730 ; and Wolsey to Cromwell, /State Papers, vol. i. p. 355, &c.
2 Indenture, October 22, 1529, R.O., Brewer, Letters and
Papers, vol. iv. p. 2678.
3 Letters of Protection, November 18, 1529, Rymer,
Feeder a, xiv. 351.
ANNE BOLEYN. 99
and claimed his reward, but the Duke of Norfolk was CHAP. in.
the abler statesman and was the uncle of Anne. This
latter consideration seems to have been decisive.
Norfolk was made president and Suffolk vice-presi-
dent of the council. The chancellorship was thus
stripped of much of its importance and splendour,
and if Anne had had her way, it would have been
granted to Gardiner. But Gardiner himself was not
over anxious to be appointed to so difficult and
dangerous an office. A bishopric seeming much more
convenient, he preferred a promise of promotion to
the see of Winchester, which was about to become
vacant by the renunciation of Wolsey. The seals
were given to a man less thoroughgoing and able in
politics, but whose literary fame, high character for
probity, and great breadth of view promised to shed
a lustre on the cabinet — to Sir Thomas More.
Sir William Fitzwilliam, the treasurer of the house-
hold, received in addition to his office that of chan-
cellor of the duchy of Lancaster. Cuthbert Tunstall
was allowed to hold for a few months more the post
of keeper of the privy seal. After this he accepted March 25,
the see of Durham, giving up the bishopric of London
to Dr. John Stokesley, an ardent advocate of the
divorce, and making over the privy seal to Anne's
father.
The new government was eminently aristocratic,
with a strong leaning towards France. Norfolk,
Suffolk, Boleyn, Fitzwilliam, and More were all in
receipt of pensions from Francis.1 But as yet they
1 Pensions payees en Angleterre, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS.
Francis, vol. 2997, fol. 54.
H 2
100 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. were not quite agreed as to the policy to be adopted ;
they had arrived at power without a clear programme,
the chief bond of union between them being their
common hatred of the cardinal.
The first thing to be done was to provide for the
meeting of parliament. Shortly after the proroga-
tion of the legatine court, writs had been issued for
the election of members to serve in a new parliament
to assemble on the 3rd of November. But the control
of the elections was taken from Wolsey and confided
to the Duke of Norfolk and his allies, who of course
were most careful to nominate only such members as
were likely to favour the intended change of policy.1
In the time of Henry VII L the House of Commons
was not really an elective body. The sheriff
generally received with the writ a letter men-
tioning the names of the persons whom the king
wished to be elected as knights and burgesses. In
a few boroughs the responsibility of making arrange-
ments for the elections was nominally entrusted to
the bishop or to some of the lords, but this was a
mere matter of form, for in each case the patron was
informed of the royal wish and had to see that it
was fulfilled.
When the sheriff received the writ, he communi-
cated the contents of the accompanying letter to
the gentry or citizens, and called together as many
electors as he thought fit. Either there were no
electoral lists, or they were little regarded. Electors
living at a distance often did not know when the
1 Gardiner to Wolsey, R.O., Brewer, Letters and Papers, vol. iv.
p. 2668.
ANNE BOLEYN. 101
nomination was to take place, and those who appeared CHAP. m.
were generally men who could be trusted to vote as
they were directed. If anybody was bold enough to
oppose the royal candidates, his opposition was rarely
if ever of any avail. A show of hands decided
against him. And it was not quite safe to contest
a seat against the king's nominee or to vote for any
one who ventured to do so. This was considered a
clear proof of wilfulness, a most heinous offence
under the Tudors, and a man guilty of so grave an in-
discretion was soon denounced at headquarters, and
generally received a letter of appearance, that is to
say, an order to present himself before the royal
council. By the council he was soundly rated for his
presumption, and if he did not at once make humble
submission, he had to appear again. If after several
such appearances he remained stubborn, he might find
himself as a seditious and lewd person committed to
Newgate or the Marshalsea, there to meditate on the
duties of a good subject. Thus the members of the
House of Commons were about as freely elected as
the bishops ; the writ and the letter setting forth the
king's wish formed together a conge d'elire.
And even if, by some mischance, independent can-
didates were returned, this did not mean that they
were allowed to take their seats. In the spring of
1536, the sheriff of Canterbury received the royal
writ, but inadvertently the letter of Secretary Cromwell
was not handed to him. He immediately called May 12,
together about seventy substantial men, who elected
two representatives. Scarcely had the new members
been declared duly elected, when Crom well's letter
102 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. arrived. The sheriff wrote to the secretary excul-
pating himself and regretting that the king's wish
could not be fulfilled ; l but he was soon undeceived.
The reply of Cromwell we do not possess, but the
May 19, result of it was that a week later the mayor and
1536> sheriff summoned eighty or more good and substantial
men, and that they elected the two royal candidates
without a single dissentient voice.2
November A parliament thus chosen met on the 3rd of
3> li 29- November. The interval between the dismissal of
Wolsey and the opening of the session had been
employed by Henry and Anne in viewing the rich
Anne and spoil they had obtained. They went down to Green-
Hyry,at wich and then secretly to York Place, where the
Place, magnificent furniture and the plate were exhibited
to them.3 Anne was highly pleased with all she saw,
and decided that this should be the future town
residence of the king, one great advantage of it
being that there was no apartment for Catherine.
Necessary changes in the building were to be begun
at once, neighbouring houses were to be pulled down
to provide space for a garden, York Place was to
become Whitehall.4
TU new Shortly afterwards the king returned to his new
policy. Dwelling to be present at the opening of parliament.
1 John Hobbys, sheriff of Canterbury, to Cromwell, May 12,
1536, R.O., Cromwell Correspondence, vol. v. fol. 108.
2 The mayor and sheriff of Canterbury to Cromwell, May 20,
1536, R.O., Cromwell Correspondence, vol. v. fol. 102.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., October 25, 1529, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 225, i. No. 23.
4 E. Chapuis to Charles Y., February 6, 1530, and May 14,
1531, Vienna Archives, P.C. 226, i. fol. 24 and 227, i. fol. 43.
ANNE BOLEYN. 103
Sir Thomas More read to the two houses a long speech CHAP. m.
in which the cardinal was not spared and in which
a new and better policy was promised.1 One of the
first proofs of this better policy was the passing of
a bill by which the king was released from all debts
he had contracted towards his subjects, on the whole
a sum of nearly £150,000, of which his creditors were
thus cheated.2 After this, little was done during the
session, except that a great many complaints were
made against the rapacity and insolence of the clergy.3
As these complaints -could scarcely have been made
without the consent of ministers, they showed the
real inclinations and tendencies of the cabinet.
If little was done as far as politics were con- Favour
cerned, a good deal was done to promote the interest °
of Anne and her family. First her brother, George
Boleyn, a very young and totally untried man,
was placed at the head of an embassy to France ; 4
and Lord Rochford, while his son was employed on
this honourable and lucrative errand, was raised
in dignity. On the 8th of December he was The Earl
created Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond, and his &fa^
daughter became Lady Anne 5 — strange to say, Lady j)ecemi(r
Anne Rochford, not Lady Anne Boleyn : for what 8» 1529-
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., November 8, 1529, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 225, i. No. 24.
2 Statutes of the Realm, vol. iii. p. 315.
3 Grievances charged by the Commons upon the Spiritualty;
Hall, Union of the Houses of York and Lancaster, p. 765.
4 Instructions to G. Boleyn and Dr. Stokesley, State Papers,
vol. vii. p. 219.
5 Patent, December 8, 1529, Brewer, Letters and Papers, vol.
iv. p. 2718.
104 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. reason I do not know, except, perhaps, that Bullen,
the mercer, was still too well remembered.
To mark the favour shown to Anne, a great
December banquet was given by the king on the day after the
ceremony, Anne occupying Catherine's place, above
the Duchesses of Suffolk and Norfolk and other ladies
of high rank. The banquet was followed by a ball,
and by such feasts and rejoicings that nothing, says
Chapuis, seemed wanting but the priest to make the
lovers exchange their rings. There wTas no longer the
slightest restraint : everybody understood that Anne
was to be the queen.1
friends As to the means by which her exaltation was to
and be brought about there was some difference of
enemies. • • a jr n i j * • A >
opinion, feutiolk was by no means ardent m Anne s
cause, for he considered himself ill-treated, the arro-
gance of the Boleyns annoyed him, and he could not
gain anything by the divorce. The peers generally
took the same view : the cardinal having been ousted
from office, and the officials thoroughly humbled,
they wanted no more. Nor were the officials much
more eager, for the game was a hazardous one.
Of those who sat in the royal council More and
Tunstall were secretly hostile, Gardiner was begin-
ning to cool down ; even Anne's uncle, the Duke of
Norfolk, occasionally showed himself lukewarm, while
the duchess, with whom he was still on tolerable
terms, supported Catherine. Only Anne's father
could be thoroughly trusted, and he was about to
leave England for a considerable time.
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., December 13, 1529, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 227, i. fol. 81.
ANNE BOLEYN. 105
During the spring of 1529 the reconciliation be- CHAP. m.
tween Charles V. and the Holy See had been made Mission
complete, a treaty having been concluded at Barcelona Wiltshire
on the 29th of June. Charles had thereupon decided to
to visit the pope in Italy. The meeting took place at
Bologna ; and on the 29th of February, 1530, Charles February
was crowned emperor. Afterwards the two chiefs of 29' 1{
Christendom remained together for some time in order
to discuss the many grave matters by which the western
world was troubled ; and Henry seized the occasion to
send an embassy to Charles and Clement to reason
them out of their opposition to the divorce.
At first it had been intended to entrust the Duke
of Norfolk with this mission, but as he had no wish
to be blamed for a failure he knew to be inevitable,
he prayed to be excused. He did not speak French
well enough, he said, the Earl of Wiltshire would
be a better ambassador.1 The earl may also have felt
reluctance to go on a bootless errand, and to travel
among robbers and soldiers ; but, if so, his objections
were overcome by the prayers of his daughter
and by the prospect of an extraordinarily high
salary.2 He was to be accompanied by Dr. Edward
Lee, by Dr. Stokesley, who was already in France
collecting opinions in favour of the divorce, by
Dr. Thomas Cranmer, who had been his chaplain,
and by Dr. Edward Karne. He left on the 21st of January
January, 1530, with a large retinue, was joined by 21» 153a
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., January 13, 1530, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 226, i. fol. 4.
2 Bryan Tuke's Accounts, January 20, 1530, Gairdner, Letters
and Papers, vol. v. p. 317.
106 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. Stokesley, and proceeded by slow stages towards
Italy.1 At Roanne, learning that the emperor was
going to leave Bologna, he took post horses, and,
abandoning his retinue, rode forward in hot haste.
But he was not equal to the exertion : at Lyons
he was so tired that he had to stop ; his train
rejoined him, and the whole company proceeded
to Bologna together.2
Wiltshire^ The earl arrived at Bologna on the 14th of March.
failure, rpj^ f0uowjnnr day he had an audience of the emperor,
March 15, .
1530. but it was merely formal, and he had to wait a few
days before finding an opportunity of explaining his
errand. He began by asking whether the emperor
would permit him and his colleagues to argue the
matter of the divorce before the cardinals, and whether,
if the English could convince the consistory, Charles
would cease to resist the king's wishes. The emperor
at once interrupted him by a very pertinent question :
" Will your king, on his part, bind himself to desist
from the divorce if the cardinals are not convinced
by you ? " The earl could but reply that he had no
power to give this pledge. " Then," said Charles, " I
shall not promise anything either ; the matter must
take its regular course before the proper tribunal."
The earl now began to recite his commission, a long
theological treatise, and Charles leant back in his chair
while the tedious lecture proceeded. When it was
ended, he calmly repeated that the matter was to take
1 E. Ghapuis to Charles V., January 25, 1530, Yienna Archives,
P.O. 226, i. fol. 7.
2 J. du Bellay to Montmorency, February 20, 1530, Paris, Bibl.
Nat. MSS. Fr. 3080, fol. 90.
ANNE BOLEYN. 107
its regular course at Kome, and that he would not CHAP. m.
hear any further argument.1 All attempts to shake
his resolution proved fruitless ; the most tempting
bribes were rejected with scorn.
A few days later the emperor left, but before his
departure the imperial ministers played a most annoy-
ing trick on the ear]. Simonetta, auditor of the
tribunal of the Rota, had issued a citation calling on
Henry to appear in person or by proxy before him
at the tribunal in Rome. Copies of this act had been
sent to England, but no usher had been bold enough to
serve it on the king ; and the cause had been thereby
delayed, much to the annoyance- of the Imperialists.
Wiltshire^ as duly accredited ambassador, repre-
sented the person of the king, and to serve the writ
on him would be sufficient for the proceedings ; ac-
cordingly an usher presented himself at his lodgings
and exhibited the citation. Wiltshire protested, and
his colleagues and his servants would fain ha,ve
knocked down the usher, but behind him stood the
threatening forms of Charles's Spanish soldiers and
bravi. The writ was served. As long as Charles
and his guards remained at Bologna, Wiltshire
dared not even remonstrate ; but on the day after
the emperor's departure he went to the pope and
bitterly complained of the indignity offered to
him. He entreated the Holy Father, if not to recall
the citation, at least to grant a delay, promising,
on the part of the king, that in the interval no
further steps should be taken in England. Clement,
1 Charles Y. to Eustache Chapuis, March 25, 1530, Yienna
Archives, P.O. 228, ii. fol. 50.
108 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. having sent a message to Charles, granted a delay
of six weeks, and this was all the earl could
obtain.1 Shortly afterwards the pope left Bologna,
and Wiltshire took his way by Milan and Turin to
France.
When Henry heard of the failure of Wiltshire's
mission he was extremely angry, and laid the whole
blame on the ambassador's incapacity and want of
energy. In those with whom he had hitherto had to
deal, Henry had generally observed only abject cring-
ing or coarse egotism ; either people had bowed to his
caprice, or they had resisted him because it was their
interest to do so. Himself destitute of generous senti-
ments, and having scarcely ever seen any evidence of
them in others, he was unable to understand them
or even to believe seriously in their existence. Here
he met with an opposition which was wholly dis-
interested ; the offers of friendship, of money and
military help, which the earl had been commissioned
to make to Charles V., had been treated with the same
contempt as the hints thrown out that Henry might
be driven by the emperor's obstinacy to enter into
closer alliance with the French. This, Henry thought,
could have been due only to the manner in which
his wishes had been represented to Charles. He was
angry and annoyed, and regretted that the ability of
1 Charles Y. to Chapuis, March 25, 1530, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 228, ii. fol. 55 : " Disant le comte de Wilschire que combien
quil neu procuration speciale pour assehurer que le diet Roy son
maistre ne innoveroit rien de son couste cependant par voie de
fait ny autrement que touteffois il avoit bien tel credit de son
diet maistre quil sen vouloit bien faire fort ..."
ANNE BOLEYN. 109
which. Wolsey had given him so many proofs was no CHAP. m.
longer at his command.1
The cardinal, having thrown himself on the king's Wolsey
_ , pardoned.
mercy, had received royal letters 01 protection, by
which all proceedings against him had been stayed ;
and his friends had begun once more to rally round
him. Soon after Christmas an attempt was made to
obtain for him an interview with the king.2 He fell January,
ill, and his physician asked for a consultation with Dr.
Butt, the king's physician.3 This request was complied
with ; and Butt, a secret friend, reported to Henry
that the cardinal's life was in danger, that the chief
cause of his malady was anxiety and grief for the
royal displeasure, and that if he continued in the
same state of mind he would shortly be dead. Henry,
so Cavendish relates, exclaimed that he would not
lose the cardinal for £20,000. He sent Wolsey a
token of his favour, asking Anne to do the same,
and she willingly assented, since, by showing herself
more relenting towards the fallen minister, she hoped
to be all the better able to counteract his schemes.4
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., May 10 and July 11, 1530,
Vienna Archives, P.O. 226, i. fols. 50 and 59 ; J. J. de Vaulx to
Francis I., April 2 and 4, 1530, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Fr.
vol. 3019, fol. 126.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., February 6, 1530, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 226, i. fol. 24.
3 Dr. Agostino to Cromwell, January 19, 1530, Brewer,
Letters and Papers, vol. iv. p. 2747.
4 E. Chapuis to Charles V., February 6, 1530, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 226, i. fol. 24 : " Sire tin cousin du medecin du
Cardinal ma clit que la dame lavoyt envoye visitor durant sa
maladie et se presenter de luy estre favorable vers le Roy quest
chose dure a croyre attendu ce que dessus et linimitie quelle
110 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. Doctor Butt returned to Esher to deliver the messages
with which he had been charged, and to convey a
promise that Wolsey 's pardon should be made out.1
Though the main object of the intrigue had not been
attained, something, at least, had been secured ; the
February pardon was sealed on the 12th of February, and,
12, 1530. on the 14th, the temporalities of York were returned
to the cardinal, as well as £6,374 in money, plate,
and other movables.2 He was, moreover, allowed to
pensions. leave Esher, the air of which did not agree with him,
and to retire to Eichmond Lodge.
If Henry really exclaimed that he would not lose
the cardinal for £20,000, he spoke in a very matter-of-
fact way of an intrigue he was carrying on. Like
all spendthrifts, he was always in want of money,
and his greed overruled nearly every other considera-
tion. Wolsey had in his first fright ceded to the
king not only all his movable property, but all sums
due to him as debts and as pensions, and had offered
to aid Henry in realising these assets. The pensions
from Spain, and the arrears thereof, there was
little hope of obtaining, for even when the cardinal
was in power they had been most irregularly paid.
But it was possible that the French debt and pensions
might be realised, and they were so considerable as to
tempt the cupidity of the king.
August, When in 1525 Wolsey had negotiated the peace
1525.
luy a toujours porte, ce nestoit ou quelle pensast quil dehust
mourir ou quelle heu voulu monstrer sa dissimulacion et affayterie
de quoy au dire du commung elle est bonne ouvriere."
J G. Cavendish, Life of Cardinal Wolsey, p. 287.
2 Rymer, Fo&dera, xiv. pp. 366 and 374.
ANNE BOLEYN. Ill
with France which was signed at the More, he had not CHAP. m.
forgotten his personal interests. He had asked that
100,000 crowns should be given to him, and that the
arrears of pension, which had been stopped during
the war, should be paid with the coming instalments.
These requests had been granted, and an obligation
for the whole sum of 123,885 crowns, equal to about
£27,000, had been made out. He was to receive from
that time half-yearly 12,500 crowns, of which 4,000
crowns were to be his regular pension, and 8,500
crowns an instalment of the arrears. Had all the
eight payments from November 1525 to May 1529
been made, the debt would have been reduced to
55,885 crowns. But since 1527 no payments had
been made, and Wolsey, already insecure in his
position, had not dared to press for them, but had
tried to conciliate Francis by allowing him to employ
the money in the prosecution of the war and for the
ransoming of his children. It was uncertain whether
the claim to the 37,500 crowns thus expended by
Francis had been entirely abandoned, as the French
pretended, or only postponed, as the English main-
tained. If the latter view was correct, the sum still
due to Wolsey was about 93,000 crowns, that is to say,
a little more than the £20,000 at which Henry had
rated his life. Besides, the November instalment of
the pension was already due, and another would be
due in May.1
All these sums Wolsey had made over to the king, but
it was doubtful whether under the altered circumstances
1 J. J. de Yaulx to Francis L, March 5, 1530, Paris, Bibl. Nat.
MSS. Fr. 3014, fol. 78.
11-2 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. they could be realised. The French would certainly
raise difficulties, and the help of the cardinal seemed
absolutely necessary to obtain payment. This gave
him a considerable advantage, as he was pretty sure to
be allowed to remain in the vicinity of the court
where he would be able to press Jean Joaquin, the
French ambassador, for payment of the arrears and
of the amount becoming due. He was made to ask
urgently for these sums under the pretence that he was
now very poor and in debt. The Duke of Norfolk
earnestly backed his request, and gave the French to
understand that Henry would be glad if the money
were paid, that Wolsey might live at ease at his
bishopric. But Jean Joaquin was not the dupe of
Henry ; he cleverly evaded all demands for payment,
and asked the cardinal to give him a receipt for the
amounts which Francis had been permitted to use in
1528 and in May 1529.1
As time went on, the resentment of Henry against
his former prime minister abated. Already the
friends of the cardinal dared to speak of him to
the king, and made no secret of their sympathy.2 'It
1 J. J. de Vaulx to Francis I., March 15, 1530, Paris, Bibl.
Nat. MSS. Fr. 3014, fols. 80, 81.
2 Eustaclie Chapuis to Charles V., February 6, 1530, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 226, i. fol. 24 : " Jean Joaquin a charge . . . de
rabiller les affaires du Cardinal avec le Roy que seroit sans la
dame fort ayse. ... La pratique bien demesle ne pourroit estre
plus advantageuse pour eulx mais elle nest sans grand danger de
demoure imparfaytte et dirrite ceulx que ont le credit et manie-
ment aux quieux y va la vie. . . . Maistre Rossel ma dit que a
cause quil avoit porte quelque parolle au Roy en faveur du diet
Cardinal que la dame avoit bien demoure ung moys luy tenant
trognie et refusant luy parler."
ANNE BOLEYN. 113
was their wish to procure for Wolsey an interview with CHAP. m.
Henry, that he might once more use his powers of
flattery and persuasion. As the fine season, during
which Henry went roaming about the country, was
fast approaching, there was every chance that a
meeting might take place ; for, if the king came near
Richmond Lodge, the cardinal might, as if by acci-
dent, find himself in his way. This was a danger
which Anne and her associates viewed with consider-
able alarm.1 They all agreed that the cardinal must
leave, and the recovery of the French pensions became
a matter of secondary importance, which was not to
prevent Wolsey's departure. Even if he remained,
it seemed doubtful whether it would be possible to
overcome the stubbornness of Jean Joaquin.
Anne openly resented the conduct of those friends
of Wolsey who dared to speak in his favour, while
her uncle pressed him to leave for York.2 It was
in vain that Wolsey pleaded poverty, the bad state
of the roads, and the worse state of his houses in
Yorkshire ; his excuses were not accepted. Norfolk
was now prime minister in his turn, and spoke
in the name of the king, so that the cardinal was
obliged to obey. But before starting for York, a Wolsey
few days before Easter, he had an interview with ^£°
Jean Joaquin, and, having no further interest in con- March,
tinuing the intrigue about his arrears, he tried to
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., February 6, 1530, loc. tit. :
" Jentends que pour remedier a cet inconvenient yl aye este
ordonne quil napprocheroit de la court de cinq ou sept milles de
ce pays."
2 Chapuis to Charles V., February 6, 1530, loc. cit.
VOL. I. I
114 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. gain the good will of Francis by signing the three
receipts for 37,500 crowns. His life thus lost
£9,000 of its value to Henry.1
Wolsey's hope of obtaining some assistance from
France was wholly illusory. Had he known what
negotiations were going on between France and
England, he would not have expected any advantage
for himself by pleasing the French. For the new
cabinet were even more eager than he to conciliate
Francis ; they professed the utmost anxiety to meet
all his demands. The influence of Francis at the
English court had increased to such an extent that
he could scarcely have wished for more.2
Henry's chief object was now to obtain opinions
from learned men and learned bodies in favour of the
Theolo- divorce. His pedantic folly led him to believe that
9wns^and foQ world at large and the Roman court would regard
divorce, such opinions — however dishonestly come by — with
a certain reverence. Fair and foul means, more
foul than fair, were not spared to secure signatures
for the king. In England intimidation was freely
used, and nearly every divine or lawyer, fearing
the royal anger, bullied and insulted by the royal
commissioners, subscribed. A few resisted, but
they were so small a minority that Henry could
boast that in England almost everybody was on
his side.
On the Continent his agents found it much
1 J. J. de Yaulx to Francis I., March 27, 1530, Paris, Bibl.
Nat. MSS. Fr. vol. 3126, fol. 106.
2 J. J. de Yaulx to Francis I., March 22, 1530, Paris, Bibl.
Nat. MSS. Fr. vol. 3012, fol. 79, &c.
ANNE BOLEYN. 115
more difficult to obtain favourable opinions. Though CHAP. m.
they offered bribes to any theologian who would sub-
scribe, they met with such a reception in Germany
that all hope of success in that country had to be
abandoned. Eoman Catholics and Lutherans con-
curred in holding the marriage to be perfectly lawful.1
Spain and the Low Countries were out of the question,
for not only were most of their theologians hostile to
Henry, but even if it had been possible to induce any
one by bribes to support him, Charles would never
have allowed the English agents to make the attempt.
There remained but France and Upper Italy, and here
the English agents were hard at work trying to
obtain subscriptions. The task was by no means
easy. Frenchmen were certainly rather unfavourable
to Charles and to his family ; nevertheless, they
would not decide against Catherine. The Faculty of
Theology of the University of Paris, the famous
Sorbonne, obstinately refused to give an opinion.
The Faculties of Theology of Angers and Poitiers went
further, and declared the marriage with Catherine to
have been perfectly lawful.2 Henry saw that if the
1 Dr. Martin Luther's Saemmtliche Schriften, vol. x. p. 716,
Sermon, anno 1522 : "Das" (to marry a late brother's widow)
"ist nun nicht mehr geboten doch auch nicht verboten," and
Ibid. vol. x. pp. 744 and 745, Sermon (anno 1525?): "Daraus
folget dass ich meines Weibes oder Braut Schwester nach
ihrem Tode ehelichen mag, darzu auch des Bruders Weib
nach seinem Tode im Gesetz befohlen war zu nehmen." At
a later period Luther disapproved of such marriages, but he
never admitted that a marriage once concluded with a deceased
brother's widow was illegal and void.
2 Opinion of Angers, May 7, 1530, Legrand, vol. iii. p. 507 \
I 2
116 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. other French universities followed the example of the
Faculties of Angers and Poitiers, his cause would be
entirely discredited ; and as this could not be pre-
Influence vented by his own efforts, he urged Francis to use his
Francis!, influence with the doctors of Paris.1 Francis could
scarcely be expected to render such a service for
nothing, and in order to obtain it the English court
was obliged to make concessions of every kind, and
to offer very real advantages.
But it was not only in France that the assistance of
Francis seemed indispensable ; in Italy too the English
agents would have failed, had they not been backed
by the French party. At that time the whole
peninsula was divided into two hostile camps : the
French and the Spanish or Imperial. In every town
of Upper Italy Charles and Francis had numerous
adherents or pensioners, ready to obey their behests.
Henry had no such organised party at his command,
and without French aid the English agents would
never have been allowed to bribe as they did. The
and Opinion of Poitiers, April 23, 1530, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 226, ii. fol. 25.
1 Gr. du Bellay and J. J. de Vaulx to Francis I., February 15,
1530, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Fr. 3019, fol. 112: "Sicome col
mezo de V. Mte la Mta sua non dubita que tutti ben sentirano
altramente chin suo favor non puo venire, cossi disse ley. E
perche la prestezza importa . . ." ; and J. J. de Vaulx to Francis I.,
March 5, 1530, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Fr. 3014, fol. 78: "E
se con tal mezo S. Sta inclinera al intento desso Smo Re in buona
hora se manco Sua Mte, parendoli haver justissima causa, per
satisfatione della sua conscientia per aventura prendera degli
expedient! che a lei e al suo buon consiglio pareran piu al
proposito . . ." ; and J. J. de Vaulx to Francis I., March 27,
1530, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Fr. 3126, fol. 106.
ANNE BOLEYN. 117
Imperialists would have asked for their expulsion, and
the request would have been granted. But when
the English were backed by France, they were able
to disregard the Imperialists and to bribe as much as
they pleased.
For the same reasons French assistance was
necessary at Home, where the College of Cardinals
was divided into an Imperial and into a French
faction. A few cardinals might be neutral, but there
was no English faction, and not even a single
Englishman occupied any important position in
Eome. It was only through the influence of the
French party that the English agents could hope to
obtain an opportunity of gaining over some of those
opposed to the divorce.
Under these circumstances, the English government, Deference
if bent on pursuing the course which had been adopted English
by Wolsey, could have no policy of its own ; it could Govern-
not risk defeat by alienating the good will of the France.
French king. Never therefore had there been such
demonstrations of affection for France. When a
quarrel as to some disputed territory near Calais
arose, Henry, otherwise so punctilious, exclaimed
that he would permit the French to take a rod of
his ground rather than allow his servants to take
a foot of what belonged to France, and the matter
was settled to the satisfaction of the French
ambassador.1 And so in all other matters ; it
was no longer necessary to buy the friendship of
English ministers by such bribes and services as
1 J. J. de Yaulx to A. de Montmorency, November 15,
1530, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Italians, vol. 1131, fol. 44.
118 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. Wolsey had claimed ; the most powerful influence,
that of Anne, was bound to Francis.1 The Earl
of Wiltshire had, by command of Henry, stayed
all the summer in France, partly to give an account
of his mission to Francis, partly to negotiate a
March, closer alliance.2 George Boleyn, who was totally
unfit for his new post and who longed to be back
in England, had been recalled, and John Welles-
bourne had taken his place.3 But the principal
negotiation remained in the hands of Wiltshire.
Wiltshire The earl not only acted as Henry's minister,
Francis I ^e worked in favour of his daughter. He begged
that, as soon as the French princes should be liberated
by Charles, Jean du Bellay, who was now a staunch
friend of the Boleyns, should go to England and
promote Anne's cause ; and he promised that if she
were made queen she would for ever be the most
devoted adherent of Francis. Du Bellay disliked the
mission, but Francis was not wholly deaf to such
overtures,4 for it seemed worth while to make an effort
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 15, 1532, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 227, iii. fol. 61 : "Le diet Sr Koy de France na
rien perdu a la mort du Cardinal dYorch recouvrant cette dame
car oultre quelle est plus maligne et a plus de credit que navoit
lautre il ne luy bailie vint cinq mille escus comme il faisoit au
susdit Cardinal ains tant seulement flatteries et promesses de
soliciter le divorce."
2 J. Breton de Villandry to A. de Montmorency, May 6, 1530,
Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Fr. 3018, fol. 58.
3 J. J. de Yaulx to Francis I., March 27, 1530, Paris, Bibl.
Nat. MSS. Fr. 3126, fol. 106 ; and Accounts of Sir Bryan Tuke,
March 20, 1530, Gairdner, Letters and Papers, vol. v. p. 318.
4 J. du Bellay to A. de Montmorency, June 26, 1530, Paris,
Bibl. Nat. MSS. Fr. 3079, fol. 35 : " Je crois Mgr. Vous souvient
dun propos que je Vous tins a Bayonne qui avoit est mis en
ANNE BOLEYN. 119
to bring about a lasting enmity between Henry and CHAP. m.
Charles. Wiltshire was treated with the greatest
courtesy ; and the king flattered his vanity, which
seems to have been great, by lodging him at the
palace and by giving splendid entertainments in his
honour. Moreover, his request regarding du Bellay
was granted.1 French
With the help of Francis, whose ministers bullied
and browbeat the Parisian doctors, an irregular ,.the
divorce.
opinion was obtained at one of the sessions of
the faculty of theology declaring the marriage July 2>
between Henry and Catherine to have been void
and illegal.2 Forty-three doctors protested against
the vote as surreptitiously obtained, but the registers
were taken away, so that the opinion could not be
cancelled.3 Other French universities followed the
avant envers Mr. de Yuilcher pour resserrer lamitie de ces deux
Boys quil na oublie envers son maistre de sorte quil este arreste
que incontinent messieurs delivres je cours en Angleterre pour
cet effect . . . il est vray quon se fust bien passe de tant se
haster . . . il ny a plus ordre de rompre la chose mais vostre
venue la pourra beaucoup amender."
1 J. du Bellay to A. de Montmorency, "De Moulins ce mardi,"
Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Fr. 3079, fol. 45; and J. Breton de
Villandry to A. de Montmorency, May 6, 1530, loc. cit.
2 Francis I. to the President of Paris, June 17, 1530,
Brewer, Letters and Papers, vol. iv. p. 2903 ; Guillaume du
Bellay to A. de Montmorency, June 12, July 8, and August 15
and 18, 1530, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Fr. 3020, fol. 113; 3080,
fol. 153; 3079, fols. 91 and 99; Jean du Bellay to A. de
Montmorency, August 15, 1530, Ibid. vol. 3077, fol. 93 ; and
Opinion of the Faculty of Theology of Paris, July 2, 1530,
Bymer, Feeder a, vol. xiv. p. 393.
8 Names of doctors in favour of Catherine, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 226, ii. fol. 28.
120 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. example of Paris, and with these favourable results
the Earl of Wiltshire returned in the beginning of
August to England. He was closely followed by
August du Bellay, who arrived in London on the seventeenth
17, 1530. « , , , TI
of the same month/
The bishop, when received by the royal council,
advocated a bold course. He urged that Henry should
marry the Lady Anne, and expressed his belief that
with the help of the French king Clement would be
brought to ratify the marriage. This seemed plausible
enough, for Clement himself had in former times
spoken in a sense very nearly the same, but the
English council were as averse from the plan as ever,
for they feared that by such precipitancy England
might be made even more dependent on French help.
With the exception of Anne's uncle and father all the
councillors voted against the scheme, the Duke of
Suffolk being loudest in opposition.2 The bishop
spoke rather sharply about their action, and it seemed
to him that a sudden change had come over the
English court, for in other matters also he met with a
cold response. The treaty which he had been com-
missioned to sign was not concluded, and for a moment
it appeared as if the mission, instead of confirming,
would shake the friendship with France.
Du Bellay failed chiefly because the members of
1 E. Chapuis to Margaret of Savoy, August 20, 1530, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 227, iv. fol. 45.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 5, 1530, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 226, i. fol. 73 : " Et dient que le due de Susphoc
a este celluy qua le plus resiste." The abstract of this letter
given by Mr. de Gayangos in his Calendar, vol. iv. part i. p. 708
to 710, is very inaccurate.
ANNE BOLEYN. 121
the council were once more quarrelling. Wolsey CHAP. m.
being far off at York, they thought themselves secure, Dissension
and those who found their share of the spoil insufficient
now meditated the overthrow of Anne and her uncle.
The Duke of Suffolk had been so enraged by the
slight put upon his wife at the banquet, and by
subsequent acts of insolence of Anne and her brother,
that he dared to tell the king that the woman he
destined for the throne had been the mistress of one
of his gentlemen. Sir Thomas Wyatt seems to have
been meant, but in any case Suffolk offered to prove
the accusation by the evidence of unimpeachable
witnesses. Henry either disbelieved or feigned to
disbelieve what his brother-in-law told him, and the
duke retired half in disgrace from the court. But the
opposition was not thereby allayed ; the divorce
became every day more unpopular at the council, at
court, and throughout the country.1
Meanwhile, Wolsey was watching his opportunity.
He had by no means resigned himself to finish his life
in obscurity ; he continued to maintain a numerous
train, he made himself popular in the north, and he
never gave up the hope of returning to power. He
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., May 10, 1530, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 226, i. fol. 50 : " Sire il y a longtemps que le due de Suffocq
ne sest trouve en cort et dit Ion quil en est banni pour quelque
temps a cause quil revela au Boy que la dame avoyt este trouvee
au delit avec ung gentilhomme de court que desia en avoit
autreffois este chasse pour suspicion et ceste derniere foys Ion
lavoit faict vuyder de cour a linstance de la dicte dame qui f aignoit
estre fort couroussee contre luy mais enfin le Roy a intercede vers
elle que le diet gentilhomme retournast a la court ; " and George
Wyatt, Life of Sir Thomas Wyatt.
122 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. was of course greatly pleased by Wiltshire's failure at
Bologna, and was delighted when he heard of the
dissensions in the council.1 By means of a former
physician of Campeggio who had gone over to his
service, he kept up an active correspondence with
Jean Joaquin and with Eustache Chapuis.2 But
in these intrigues he showed little ability and
little acquaintance with the character of the men
whom he tried to gain over. When it was ru-
moured that the French ambassador had advised
Henry to marry Anne Boleyn without further delay,
Wolsey sent a message to Chapuis to say that he
would be content to lose his archbishopric if the
marriage had been concluded two years ago, for in
that case the ruin brought upon him by the infamous
woman would already have been avenged.3 Wolsey,
who understood Henry's character, knew that if Anne
became his wife he would soon get tired of her ; but in
his rage he overlooked the fact that his vindictive
feelings were not shared by Chapuis. To the imperial
ambassador the ruin of Anne was desirable chiefly
as a means of preventing the divorce ; if it was to be
secured by the repudiation of Catherine, he would
have no hand in it. Though the court at Brussels
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., April 23, 1530, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 226, i. fol. 43.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., April 23 and June 15, 1530,
Vienna Archives, P.C. 226, i. fols. 43 and 64.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., May 10, 1530, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 226, i. fol. 50 : " Et vouldroit le diet Cardinal quil luy eust
couste son archevesche que cella eu este attempte il y a deux ans
car mieulx neust il peu estre vange de ceste garse que la deffayt."
ANNE BOLEYN. 123
was rather friendly to Wolsey, the ambassador gave CHAP. m.
no encouragement to the cardinal's agents and did
not in any way act in his favour.1
Nor was the cardinal more happy in his attempt to
obtain the assistance of Jean Joaquin de Vaulx. He
reminded de Vaulx of his manifold services to France
and of the promises made to him, but Jean Joaquin
had by this time discovered that his best friends in the
English council were the very men against whom his
aid was wanted.2 He would not listen to Wolsey's
messages. An appeal which Wolsey is said to have
made to the pope, asking him to excommunicate Henry
if he did not at once submit and send Anne away,
remained equally without response.3
Another attempt which the cardinal made to regain
his power proved even more disastrous to him. While,
to make the king more pliable, he was intriguing with
Chapuis, Jean Joaquin, and the pope, he tried to
intrigue with Henry himself against the royal
ministers. He sent off several secret agents, who
were instructed to offer his services, in the hope that
Henry, disgusted with the incapacity of his present
1 Giles de la Pommeraye to A. de Montmorency, December 28,
1529, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Fr. 20502, fol. 44: "Le Cardinal
de Yort ne demourera gueres longuement . . . les flamands ne
luy donnent.le tort ; " and E. Chapuis to Charles V., November 27,
1530, Vienna Archives, P.C. 226, i. fol. 96.
2 J. J. de Vaulx to Francis I., March 27, 1530, Paris,
Bibl. Nat. MSS. Fr. 3126, fol. 106 ; and E. Chapuis to Charles V.,
November 13, 1530, Vienna Archives, P.C. 226, i. fol. 93.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., November 13 and 27, 1530, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 226, i. fols. 93 and 96.
124 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. m. advisers, frightened by the difficulties threatening him,
would recall the cardinal to his presence.1 But the men
whom Wolsey had chosen for this errand were the
first to betray him. It was very dangerous to
negotiate such matters with so untrustworthy and
dishonest a man as Henry VIII. was known to be,
for he might at any moment denounce the messengers
to the council and hand them over to the tender
mercies of Norfolk and his adherents. Wolsey's agents
preferred, therefore, to play false themselves, and in-
formed the duke of the mission entrusted to them.2
The news created considerable alarm among the
members of the cabinet. They had discovered one
of Wolsey's intrigues, but it was probable that he
was carrying on many more of the same kind.
He might succeed and be recalled to court, in which
case their influence would soon be gone ; and as
Wolsey was not of a forgiving temper, this was not
an agreeable prospect for those who had displaced
him.3
The common danger drew the ministers together.
It was impossible to watch the cardinal's movements
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., November 27, 1530, loc. cit.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles Y., July 11, 1530, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 226, i. fol. 59. Norfolk said of Wolsey: "Touteffois de sa
vie ne parleroit au Roy ny le verroit ; ce quil avoit bien pense
fayre il y a peu de jours et a cet effect avoit invente la plus caute
et subtille occasion du monde, mais les moyens de lexecution
avoint este bien f ols car le diet Cardinal sestoit declayre a troys
qui feroint faulce monnoye pour le diet due."
3 E. Chapuis to Charles Y., February 6, 1530, Yienna Archives,
P.C. 226, i. fol. 24.
ANNE BOLEYN. 125
so closely as to prevent any secret intercourse with CHAP. m.
the king : the only way to counteract his intrigues
was to strike at him fast and hard. The whole party
set to work to bring their adversary to complete ruin,
and before long they found a way of doing it.
Agostino was arrested, and by threats or promises he
was induced to make a full confession of all that had
been transacted with Jean Joaquin and Chapuis.1 This
done, it was not difficult to raise Henry's anger against
the fallen minister, and orders were sent to the Earl
of Northumberland — Anne's former admirer and fast
friend — to arrest the cardinal. On the 4th of November
November Wolsey found himself a prisoner at '
Cawood, and he was shortly afterwards sent to take
his trial in London.
Norfolk was still ill at ease, for the evidence ob-
tained would scarcely justify a sentence of death,
and it could not in any case be divulged without
danger. The cardinal would at the utmost be kept a
prisoner at the Tower, where he would cause as much
anxiety as at York, since in a moment of anger with
the duke Henry might recall Wolsey to the council
board. No hurry was, therefore, made to bring him
to London.
But Norfolk and Anne were spared all further Wolsey's
trouble in this matter. Frightened by his arrest, deaih-
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., November 27, 1530, Vienna
Archives, i. fol. 96: "Mais depuis quilz ont eu le medecin du
diet Cardinal entre les mains ils ont trouves ce quilz serchoient.
. il a chante comme ils demandoient."
126 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. in. travelling in the very worst season, already worn out
by work and indulgence, Wolsey fell ill on the road.
He was obliged to stop at Leicester, his illness
having been increased by the journey ; and a few
days later, on the 27th of November, 1530, he
breathed his last.
CHAPTER IV.
THOMAS CROMWELL.
THE news of Wolsey's death was received by Anne Exuita-
and her friends with an exultation they did not care ^nn/s
to conceal. Their great rival was gone, all danger Party-
threatening them from his vengeance seemed over ;
and with characteristic coarseness they expressed
their hatred by violent lampoons on his character.
Lord Wiltshire gave an entertainment at which a December,
farce was performed representing the late cardinal
going down to hell, and Norfolk was so pleased with
the play that he had it printed. Wolsey was spoken
of in such opprobrious terms that even the French
ambassadors were shocked and loudly expressed their
disapproval.1
1 E. Chapuis to Charles Y., January 23, 1531, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 227, i. fol. 11 : "Sire le comte de Yulchier naguiere donna
a soupper au sieur de la Guiche ou pour mieux le festoyer fust
jouee une farse de lallee du Cardinal en enfert de quoy le diet de
la Guiche blasme fort le diet comte et encoires plus le due pour
ce quil a commande le fayre mectre en impression. Lon a fayt
et continuellement fait Ion grande chiere au diet de la guiche
touteffois ilz nen scavent tant faire quil ne sen gaudisse et ne
leur die de [leur die en] leurs entreprinses pouvre gouvernement
128 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. iv. Anne became daily more overbearing. The latest
Anne's exploit in her honour had been the fabrication of the
Arrogance, wonderful pedigree, in which good Sir William Bullen
the mercer was represented as the descendant of a
Norman knight. Though these pretensions were
laughed at, and though Anne's aunt the duchess
freely told her what they were worth, she was nowise
abashed.1 To show her contempt for those who
opposed her, she chose a device which she had heard
in France, but which she only partially remembered.
t( Ainsi sera, groigne qui groigne ! " was embroidered
on the liveries of her servants.2 Anne had no luck in
such matters ; to her mortification she learned that she
had adopted the motto of her bitter enemies, the princes
of the house of Burgundy. " Groigne qui groigne,"
she heard it repeated, " et vive Bourgoigne ! " The
liveries had to be laid aside, and Anne's servants
on Christmas Day appeared in their old doublets.3
et conseil." The passage, as quoted by Mr. de Gayangos in his
Calendar, vol. iv. part ii. p. 41, I have not been able to find in
Chapuis' despatch.
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., December 31, 1530, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 226, i. fol. 109 : " Lon ma diet que la duchesse de
Norphocq luy a naguyres derechiefz desclayre et deschiffre larbre
de sa genealogie la blasonnant bien asprement. Le Roy en est
bien deplaisant mays il fault quil aye pacience."
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., December 21, 1530, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 226, i. fol. 106.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., December 31, 1530, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 226, i. fol. 109 : " Sire la dame na permis que ces
serviteurs a ces festes ayent portes leurs accoustrements faytz
avec la devise grognie que grognie. Je ne scais si elle attend la
determination de ce parlement ou sy quelqung luy a dit que le
propre et vray refrain dicelle devise est de y a j ouster vive
borgougne."
ANNE BOLEYN. 129
She vented her anger by abusing the Spaniards, and CHAP.IV.
wishing them all at the bottom of the sea ; and when
one of Catherine's ladies, bolder than the rest, bid
her remember that the queen was born in Spain, she
swore that she would not acknowledge Catherine to be
either her queen or the wife of the king.1
Anne would have borne these little annoyances with ^nne
greater equanimity had not more serious troubles come deserted
at the same time. The death of Wolsey, as she soon friends.
found, was not, after all, of much benefit to her.
The coalition which had ruined the cardinal having
been dissolved, nearly all her allies began to forsake
her. The nobles, Suffolk at their head, seeing that
she was more arrogant than Wolsey had ever been,
were the first to go over to the opposition. Gardiner,
who had obtained a promise of the bishopric of
Winchester, showed himself less eager to please, and
was no longer implicitly trusted.2 More, Fitzwilliam,
the comptroller Guildford and other influential officials
were decidedly hostile ; and even the Duke of Norfolk
was said to have spoken in terms not at all favourable
to Anne.3 Her party had for the moment dwindled
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., January 1, 1531, Yienna Archives,
P.O. 227, i. fol, 1 : " La dame sen tenant asseure est plus brave
quung lion jusqua dire a une dame de la Royne quelle vouldroit
que tant dispaigniolz quil y a au monde fussent en la mer et luy
disant lautre que pour Ihonneur de la Royne quelle ne debvroit
ainsi parler elle lui replica quelle ne luy challoyt de la Royne ni
des siens et quelle aymeroit mieulx que ladicte Royne fust pendue
avant quelle confessa quelle fust sa maystresse ne famme du Roy."
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., June 6, 1531, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 227, i. fol. 47.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles Y., April 29, 1531, Yienna Archives,
P.C. 227, i. fol. 41 : " La ducesse de Norphoc a cecy rapporte a
VOL. I. K
130 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. iv. down to a few of her nearest kinsfolk and personal
friends. Catherine took advantage of this state of
A matri- things to have a serious talk with her husband. On
dispute. Christmas Eve she saw him in private, and upbraided
December n™ w^n ^ne wrong ne was doing her, and with the
24, 1530. scandalous example he was setting by keeping Anne
Boleyn in his company. When they quarrelled,
Catherine generally got the better of the king ; he was
cowed by her firmness, and could not prevail against
her simple and straightforward arguments. But in
this case the queen had courted defeat by making an
insinuation which was unfounded. Henry trium-
phantly replied that Catherine was altogether mis-
taken, that there was nothing wrong in his relations
with Anne, and that he kept her in his company only
to learn her character, as he had made up his mind
to marry her. Having grown bold by this first suc-
cess, he declared that marry her he would, whatever
the pope might say.1 Wherewith this matrimonial
dispute came to an end.
Henry's Notwithstanding his valorous talk, Henry found
himself n°t a little embarrassed. It had now become
pretty clear that the Roman court would not grant
the divorce ; and his agents at Eome had been
occupied in staving off the inevitable result of
Catherine's appeal. They had already hinted that the
cause could not be judged out of England, and that
la Royne luy disant davantaige que son mary en estoit merveil-
leusement marry et tribule, disant quil veoit bien quelle (Anne
Boleyn) seroit cause de fayre detruire tout le parentaige."
1 Catherine of Aragon to Clement VII., December, 1530,
Vienna Archives, P.C. 227, ii. fol. 1.
ANNE BOLEYN. 131
it ought to be settled by the authority of the CHAP. 17.
English bishops. The Boleyns strongly advocated
this course, the French would have approved of it, and
Henry's conscience would have been satisfied by a
show of a verdict in his favour. But the difficulty
was, that the bishops were not at all inclined to do
what he desired, and that they were daily becoming
less submissive. The attacks made upon them in
parliament had alarmed their cupidity ; the insolence
of the royal ministers angered them ; a few had a
remnant of conscience, and were disinclined to take
part in an iniquitous judgment. Several of those
who had formerly gone with the king now held
back or resisted his policy.
During the first month of 1531, Henry seems nearly January,
to have lost heart.1 The news from Eome was so bad
that he knew not what to do. The imperial agents
were pressing the pope to order Henry under pain of
excommunication to send Anne from court ; and now
that Wolsey was dead, and the former existence of
the famous decretal could neither be proved by his
testimony nor made use of with his help, Clement
was less unwilling to act upon the emperor's advice.
If he did so, and if he followed up his threat by ful-
minating the censures of the Church, Henry was not
yet in a position to resist, the public mind in England
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., January 31, 1531, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 227, i. fol. 13 : "La duchesse de Norfock a envoy e
hier dire a la Royne quelle sera tousiours de son party et quelle
print bon cueur car ses adversaires estoient au bout de leur sens
estans plus estonnez et nouveaulx en ceste affaire que le premier
jour."
K 2
132 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. iv. being unprepared for a schism. The only hope
was that Francis might prevent Clement from
issuing the brief; but the French king just now was
out of humour with Henry, who had not complied
with the most exorbitant of his demands.1 Things
March, looked so gloomy that, if Chapuis may Jbe trusted,
1531- Henry thought of sending Anne from court, before
he should be called upon to do so. He cannot have
intended to make her remain away a long time ; but,
with Henry, " out of sight " was easily " out of
mind," the opposite party was strong and numerous,
and her absence might have proved the beginning
of a total separation.2
Anne Anne knew well that her game was not yet
impatient. WOIL During the preceding summer, when it had
June, r^ • -11
1530. appeared that Campeggio would not give sentence m
favour of Henry, she had urged the king to marry
her at once, without waiting for a formal dissolution
of his marriage with* Catherine. Henry was afraid to
take so bold a course, and told her that for her sake he
' was making many enemies. Anne received the reproach
badly, and vehemently exclaimed that his sacrifices
1 Instructions to the Bishop of Bayonne, Paris, Bib. Nat. MSS.
Fr. 3020, fol. 59 ; and E. Chapuis to Charles V., October 31, 1530,
and March 8, 1531, Vienna Archives, P.C. 226, i. fol. 87 and
227, i. fol. 27.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., January 31, 1531, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 227, i. fol. 13: "Le Roy . . . delibereroit veu
quautreinent il ny pouvoit remedier prandre Ihonneur a soy et
de son propre mouvement avant quil y soit aultrement force de
separer la dame davec luy. II est bien a supposer que son intent
est de la rappeler tost mais je pense que sy une fois elle est en
voye dieu et la Royne pourvoyeroint bien a son ret our."
ANNE BOLEYN. 133
were nothing compared with what she was ready CHAP.IV.
to endure. She was well aware, she said, that there
was an old prophecy that in this time a queen of
England was to be burned, and she loved him so much
that she did not fear even death if she could marry
him.1 But Henry was not to be moved, and Anne
had to wait.
This she did not do very patiently. We hear of
another quarrel between the lovers in November 1530. November
Anne once more upbraided him with his slackness
and want of energy, and cried out that she regretted
the loss of her youth and her reputation in striving
after that which she could not obtain.2 Henry tried
to soothe her; and to show how much he was in
earnest he allowed her to hide behind a screen while
he gave audience to Chapuis, and to overhear all he
said to the ambassador,3
But even this could not satisfy Anne. In the
spring of 1531 her marriage seemed as distant as
ever, and the delay did not improve her temper.
She appears to have had violent quarrels with Henry,
in the course of which she used such strong language
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., July 11, 1530, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 226, i. fol. 59 : " II y a desia quelque temps que le Koy luy
disoit quelle luy estoit merveilleusement obligee car pour son
amour il pregnoit picque a tout le monde . . . que cela estoit peu
de faict au regart delle que scavoit bien que par les anciennes
prophecies que disoint que en ce temps yl y devoit avoir une
Royne que seroit bruslee mais quant bien elle devroit mille fois
morir si ne rabbatroit elle rien de son amour."
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., November 27, 1530, Yienna
Archives, P.C. 226, i. fol. 99.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles Y., November 13, 1530, Yienna
Archives, P.C. 226, i. fol. 93.
134 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. iv. that he complained about her to the Duke of Norfolk,
saying she did not behave like the queen, who had
never in her life used ill words towards him.1
Thomas It was at this most critical juncture that Anne
Cromwell. founc| an ^IQ an(j faithful ally in a man who had just
entered political life, but who had risen in it with the
utmost rapidity. Thomas Cromwell was the son of a
wealthy citizen, and received in youth a tolerable
education. After his father's death he found himself
in bad circumstances, and tried to mend his fortunes
by going abroad, but he does not appear to have
succeeded. On the Continent, however, he gained a
fair knowledge of French, Italian, and Dutch, and of
the state and resources of foreign countries. Having
returned to London he became a small attorney,
and, as it seems, a money lender. He was brought
under the notice of Cardinal Wolsey, who took him
into his service and employed him in most question-
able transactions, by which convents were despoiled
to enrich the foundations at Oxford and Ipswich.
When shortly afterwards Wolsey fell, Cromwell gave
signal proof of his ability, managing to serve men
of all parties. For Wolsey's enemies he secured
pensions on Winchester and St. Alban's, for Wolsey
himself he obtained royal letters of protection and
ultimately his pardon. At the same time he was not
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., April 29, 1531, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 227, i. fol. 41 : " Elle devient touts les jours plus fiere et
plus brave usant de parolles et auctorite envers le Boy de quoy
il sest plaint plusieurs foys au due de Norphoc disant quelle
nestoit point de la condicion de la Royne laquelle en sa vie ne
luy avoit diet mauvaise parolle. La ducesse de Norphoc a cecy
rapporte a la Royne. ..."
ANNE BOLEYN. 135
forgetful of his own interests. He solicited and CHAP. iv.
obtained from the Duke of Norfolk the privilege of
being nominated as one of the burgesses of the
borough of Taunton ; he received from the duke
himself instructions how to act in parliament ; and November,
he was soon preferred to the royal service.1 As
he had made many friends at court by giving away
the wealth of Wolsey, and as his talents and energy
attracted attention, he quickly advanced in favour
and in rank. In 1530, he was made secretary to
the king, and at the time of his former patron's
death he was already taking a leading part in politics,
especially in all matters relating to the clergy.
When the coalition broke asunder, he stood by Anne
and the Boleyns, and was soon rewarded by being
sworn of the king's council.
Cromwell advocated a bold and energetic policy, Proposed
and wished to use for the benefit of Lady Anne ^clergy.
his experience in dealing with clergymen. The
first indication of a plan to frighten the English clergy
into submission to the king's will is to be found in a
letter of Cromwell to Wolsey, and it seems most
probable that the idea originated with Cromwell.2
The proposal was that all those .who had ever
received powers, investiture or dispensations from
1 Half Sadleyr to Cromwell, November 1,1529, British Museum,
Cotton MSS. Cleopatra, E. IY. fol. 178; and Brewer, Letters and
Papers, vol. iv. p. 3180.
2 Cromwell to Cardinal Wolsey, October 21, 1530, Brewer,
Letters and Papers, vol. iv. p. 3019: "The parliament ys pro-
rogyd [until the] vi daye of January. The prelatts shall not
appere [in the] premunire. Ther ys another way devysyd in
[place thereof] as your Grace shall ferther know."
136 ANXE BOLEYN.
CHAP. iv. Wolsey as legate, should be threatened with pro-
secution for prsernunire, if they did not entirely submit
to the king. Nearly all the higher clergy belonged
to this category, and with the fear of so great a
penalty before them they would, it was hoped, grant
everything the king wished. Such a plan could not
of course fail to please Anne, to whom it held out a
sure way of obtaining what she desired. The king
was equally satisfied with it, as its success would
make the clergy entirely dependent on him. And the
party in the council which now generally opposed
the measures brought forward by Anne's friends,
willingly assented to a scheme which would weaken
the influence of the bishops.
Parochial At that time the English clergy consisted of two
very different classes having little sympathy with
one another. The lower parochial clergy, who were
usually neither learned nor ambitious and seldom
rose to higher rank, lived with the people, and were
considered the equals of small farmers and yeomen,
decidedly the inferiors of well-to-do gentlemen. They
tried to eke out their salaries — ranging from ten to
twenty pounds a year — with the small fees they got
for their services, and with presents from the wealthier
parishioners. Beyond the limits of their parishes
they found little to interest them; they contented
themselves with performing the ceremonies of the
Church and administering the sacraments, arid rarely
meddled with politics.
The The regular clergy, who were rather numerous, were
of greater importance. Many of them, like the parochial
clergy, sprang from the lowest classes of society, and
ANNE BOLEYN. 137
individually did not rise much above their kinsfolk. CHAP. iv.
But even a monastery wholly peopled by such rude
and lowly friars had as a collective entity consider-
able influence. The monks were mostly landed
proprietors employing a number of servants and
labourers. They often had some skill in medicine ;
they kept in safe custody documents and articles of
value ; they were in frequent communication with
other monasteries of the same order, and were thus
able to inform their neighbours of the news of the day.
They had hundreds of little ways of making themselves
useful. Besides, several of the monastic orders con-
sisted of preachers who went from place to place to
supplement the failings of the secular priests, who
were generally too ignorant to deliver a sermon. In
the whole archdiocese of York there were in 1534
but twelve parochial priests able to preach.1 Some
monks possessed the gift of real eloquence, and their
sermons were listened to eagerly by congregations
who had few opportunities of hearing anything so
impressive. The regular clergy were therefore more
powerful than the parochial priests, and they used
their influence for the attainment of all kinds of
ends, political ends not excepted.
Bishops, deans and archdeacons did not often care -The
to manifest clerical qualities. The most correct ^lerT
definition of a bishop under Henry VIII. would, per-
haps, be— a royal official pensioned on Church funds.
The way in which bishops, deans, and archdeacons
arrived at their dignities was generally this. A young
man of humble origin and small means, who was
i Record Office, Report of Edward Lee, Box R, No. 60.
138 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. iv. unable or unwilling to be a soldier, had, if he was
ambitious, but two careers open to him — the Church
and the law. The former offered by far the most
brilliant prospects, for it provided scope for a variety
of talents, and the one drawback, the condition of
celibacy, was often not greatly considered by a man
who had not the means of maintaining a family. A
man who could read, write, reckon fluently and keep
accounts, and who knew enough of Latin to make
out the sense of legal documents, very easily found
employment with some wealthy and influential
patron. Under the name of chaplain he was en-
gaged during the week in keeping accounts, in
writing letters, in acting as steward or agent, and
on Sunday he said mass. If he was admitted into
the household of some great nobleman or some high
official, he made a good start towards arriving at
a bishopric. Gaining the confidence of his new
master, and being entrusted with important business,
he came into contact with a great many persons
of influence, and might finally arrive at that road
to fortune, the royal chapel, or the chapel of the
prime minister. Here he was pretty sure to obtain
before long a deanery or a good parsonage, which he
never visited, but left to the care of a vicar at ten
pounds a year. By and by he might be sent on
foreign missions, or be made a royal secretary,
master of the rolls, or something of the kind ; so
that between his ecclesiastical income and the emolu-
ments and profits of his office he could live well
enough. After many years of intelligent and unscru-
pulous service he became ripe for a bishopric ; and at
ANNE BOLEYN. 139
the next vacancy of a fitting see, the king, making use CHAP. i
of his quasi-right to grant conge d'elire, nominated
him, the pope confirmed the nomination as a matter
of course, and the worthy official was consecrated a
bishop. In obtaining a decided rank and a better
income, he did not cease to render purely political
service. Many a bishop remained to the end of
his life a mere royal official, never caring for the
diocese over which he was set. And for this course
he had very good reasons. First, there were poor
bishoprics and opulent bishoprics. A bishop of
St. Asaph, St. David's, or LlandafF, with scarce £300
a year, very naturally desired to be translated
to Ely, Winchester, or Durham, the revenues of
which were about £3,000 a year. Moreover, the
king on granting a bishopric generally reserved a part
of its revenues to be employed as pensions at his
pleasure. When the recipients of such pensions died
or were otherwise provided for, the prelate tried to
secure the money for himself; but this was allowed
only if the king was well pleased with him. It was
therefore the interest of the bishop to retain the
royal favour, and to serve the king who could bestow
such benefits, rather than the Church which had
nothing to give him. Even cardinals' hats were
bestowed only on royal recommendation.
It was only when the better part of his life was
spent, when his health was impaired and his energy
broken, when he was no longer good enough for the
royal service, that a bishop retired to his diocese and
spent there at least a part of the year. But he was of
course a stranger to his clergy, and his life had been
140 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. iv. so different from theirs that he rarely understood
their character or won their confidence. Even
if after a time he began to take some interest
in his spiritual work, he was not well fitted
to reform abuses ; and any reforms he introduced
came to a speedy end when at his death a new
non-resident bishop was appointed, the diocese
being then again left for many years to take
care of itself.
In 1530 three English sees, those of Salisbury,
Worcester, and LlandafF, were held by foreigners who
simply enjoyed the revenues of them. All the other
bishops, with three exceptions, either were or had
been royal officials. Officials also held more than
half of the deaneries and archdeaconries.
The The episcopal bench was detested by the barons,
and the for the bishops were not only, as a rule, more
lay peers. arrogant than lay officials, but they generally voted
in the upper house of parliament with the government.
A bishop residing in his diocese was scarcely more
agreeable than a bishop who lived in London ; he was a
dangerous competitor for local popularity, his influence
becoming often even greater than that of the smaller
barons. For, once in the country, the bishop courted
popularity. He entertained his neighbours, spoke
kindly to the farmers and yeomen, and aided his
clergy, rendering a great many little services for which
his career had fitted him. He advised people who
had suits at court, gave them letters of introduction,
or obtained information for them. In every respect
he was thus a rival to the lay peers, all the more for-
midable as he wielded the powers of the Church, and
ANNE BOLEYN. 141
as an open quarrel with him was perilous for high. CHAP. iv.
and low.
The peers, therefore, offered no opposition to the Convoca-
plan of Cromwell, not being aware that the end he had Oram-
in view was very different from what they desired. w^s
Shortly after the new year, in 1531, convocation
met, and the clergy were informed of the danger in Janvary,
1 RQ 1
which they stood. At first they thought that the
scheme was simply a device to obtain a larger
grant of money than they otherwise would have
made ; and after some discussion they offered the sum
of £100,000, to be paid in five years for the king's
use. But to their dismay the grant was refused in
the form in which they had agreed to it, and Cromwell
sent them the draft of a declaration requiring them
to acknowledge their offences, to crave for mercy,
and to recognise the king as the supreme head of
the Church of England.1
But the new minister had miscalculated the power
which he could bring to bear on the clergy. As soon
as it became apparent to what end his proceedings
tended, they met with general opposition. The
peers had been ready enough to assent to the humi-
liation and the spoliation of the hated bishops, but
they did not at all- wish them to be made more
dependent on the king's will. The clergy also made
a stand, the demand urged by Cromwell being so
unheard of that even the most timid would not
concede it. Every day the opposition grew, disunion
crept into the royal council, and Cromwell found that
1 Wilkins, Concilia, iii. 725-745 ; and Chapuis to Charles V.,
February 14, 1531, Vienna Archives, P.O. 227, i. fol. 15.
142 . ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. iv. he would not triumph so easily as he had anticipated.
A compromise was effected, convocation agreeing to
make the proposed declaration with the saving clause
" as far as God's laws allow," a clause by which all
practical value was taken out of the act.1
Effect of This compromise was in reality a serious defeat for
on the Anne's party. The bills hostile to the authority of
clergy. ^Q pope, which it had been intended to submit to
parliament, were abandoned ; and a strong reaction
became manifest throughout the country. The
bishops were rather ashamed of having made even
May is, nominal concessions ; and a protest was signed
by numerous priests of both provinces against any
encroachments on the liberty of the Church or any
act derogatory to the authority of the Holy See.2
1 Chapuis to Charles Y., February 21, 1531, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 227, i. fol. 18.
2 Chapuis to Charles V., May 22, 1531, Vienna Archives, P.C.
227, i. fol. 45 : " Sire depuis quatre jours les ecclesiastiques de
larchevesche dyort et de levesche de Durem ont envoye au Boy
une grande protestation et reclamation centre la souveraincte que
le Roy veult pretendre et usurper sur eulx. Ceulx de larchevesche
de Canturbery ont de mesme public une autre protestacion de
laquelle envoye un double a Mgr. de Granvelle et se trouve le
Roy bien desplaisant des dictes choses." Protestation of the
clergy of Canterbury, Vienna Archives, P.C. 227, ii. fol. 26,
signed by Peter Ligham in his own name and in that of the
clergy of Canterbury, Robert Shorten, Adam Travis, Ric.
Fetherstoune, Richard Henrisoun, Thomas Petty, John Guarr,
Rowland Phelippes, Wylliam Clyffe, archdeacon of London,
J. Fitz james for the clergy of Bath and chapter of Wells, Thomas
Parker for the clergy of Worcester, Rob. Ridley for the clergy
of London, Nicolas Metcalfe, archdeacon of Rochester, Rob.
Johanson for the clergy and chapter of Rochester, Ralph Suede
for the clergy and chapter of Coventry and Lichfield, John Willo for
the clergy of Rochester, and John Bayne for the clergy of Lincoln.
ANNE BOLEYN. 143
The bishops of Kochester, Exeter, Chichester, Bath, CHAP^IV.
Norwich, St. Asaph and Llandaff were now decidedly
in favour of Catherine. The Archbishop of Canter-
bury himself began to lean to their side. Nearly
all the lower secular and regular clergy were against
the divorce.
At Rome Cromwell's attempt produced even more
striking consequences. It was regarded as a revolt
against the Holy See ; and many of those who had
hitherto rather favoured the king were alienated by
his proceedings. The tribunal of the Rota, and a con-
sistory of cardinals called in on the question, had both
decided that Henry was bound to plead at Rome,
and that even if he did not appear in person or by
proxy the cause must go on. On the 5th of january
January 1531 Paul Capisuccio, one of the auditors 5> 15ai-
of the Rota, had been appointed by the pope to
hear the cause, and a mandate had been issued calling
upon Henry to appear ; l but the English agents
had declined to admit the jurisdiction of the Roman
tribunal, contending that it was a privilege of kings
to have such causes tried in their own country.
The pope had granted delay after delay, and there
Lad been endless discussions about the question
whether Henry was bound to plead or not. But
after receipt of the news of Henry's proceedings in
the spring of 1531, the temper of the Roman court
was roused, and the pope by his nuncio in England,
Baron de Burgo, sent warning to the king that the
cause must now begin.
1 Brief of Pope Clement VII., January 5, 1531, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 226, ii. fol. 3.
144 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. iv. The message was not an agreeable one for De Burgo,
and he took some days to make up his mind to deliver
J/«y3i, it. At last, on the 31st of May, he had audience of
1531' Henry, and explained the matter as mildly as he could.
As he had expected, the king railed against the pope,
swearing that he would not submit, and threatening
with the help of France to march on Rome at the
head of an army. De Burgo could but shrug his
shoulders at such childish bragging, but the result of
the audience was that the king was more enraged
than ever.
Deputa- When the nuncio left, Henry, on the same evening,
Catherine, called a council. It was decided that another attempt
should be made to induce Catherine to forego her
rights, and that a deputation should be sent to her
next day. Catherine was warned at once by some
secret friend, perhaps by one of the commissioners.
On the following morning she heard several masses
June i, to gain strength for the impending struggle. It was
nine o'clock at night when she received the deputation,
consisting of the Duke of Norfolk, the Duke of Suffolk,
the Marquis of Exeter, the Earls of Shrewsbury, North-
umberland, and Wiltshire, several other peers, the
bishops of Lincoln and London, and Drs. Lee,
Sampson and Gardiner. Norfolk, taking advantage
of the act passed in convocation, told the queen that
Henry was highly displeased at having been cited to
appear at Eome, that he would not submit to such an
indignity, and that he was absolutely sovereign in his
realms both in temporal and spiritual matters, parlia-
ment and convocation having admitted him to be so.
Catherine stoutly defended her right, and with perfect
.ANNE BOLEYN. 145
good temper battled with, the duke and the other CHAP. iv.
counsellors. Many of them were not displeased when
she made a happy retort and silenced an adversary,
and some one of the party exclaimed that though they
laboured a good deal a woman got the better of them.
After a time the conference was broken up, the comp-
troller Guildford declaring that all those doctors who
had first mooted the question of the divorce should be
sent to Eome to defend their opinion, or to be treated
according to their merits.1
Neither Anne nor Cromwell seem to have
expected any other result. The former, who, about
the new year, had thought that her purpose might
shortly be accomplished, had after the indecisive
action of convocation and parliament lost confidence
in most of the leaders of her party. Cromwell
appears to have been unwilling to argue the matter
with Catherine, and he is afterwards mentioned by
Chapuis as the only councillor who did not take
part in the long discussions about the validity of
her marriage.
But, although neither Anne nor her ally were ^nne
astonished at the result of the interview, Anne Henry's
wished to profit by Henry's resentment. The first
whom she attacked was the outspoken comptroller.
She had high words with him, threatening that
he should be dismissed when she became queen.
Guildford, disgusted by her insolence, went at once
to Henry, and resigned his appointment. He
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., June 6, 1531, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 227, i. fol. 47.
VOL. I. L
146, ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. IT perhaps expected that the king would make Lady
Anne retract, but he was mistaken ; Henry only
asked him to remain in office. As, under the circum-
stances, Guildford could scarcely do this, he insisted
on having his leave,1 and it was granted ; Sir "William
Paulett, a more obedient courtier, being appointed in
his place. Of the other friends of Catherine, the
Duchess of Norfolk, who had not been civil enough
to the favourite,2 had been sent away from court some
weeks before ; and the Marquis of Exeter was now
also ordered to leave.3 By these means Anne hoped
effectually to silence all who spoke against the divorce
and in favour of the queen.
Anne made even better use than this of Henry's
annoyance at what he considered the obstinacy of
Catherine. Whenever the king and the queen met,
neither of them being very refined, they freely
quarrelled about the question whether they were
1 E. Chapuis to Charles Y., June 6, 1531, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 227, i. fol. 47.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., May 14, 1531, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 227, i. fol. 43 : "A lappetit aussi de la dicte dame la duchesse
de Norphoc a este envoyee en sa maison pour ce quelle parloit
trop liberallement et se declayroit plus quilz ne vouloint pour la
Royne."
3 E. Chapuis to Charles Y., July 17, 1531, Yienna Archives,
P.C. 227, i. fol. 55 : " Le jeune Marquis a eu defense de non se
trouver en court de quelque temps pour ce quil a ete charge de
fere assemblee de gens en cornouallies et au pays de lenviron, la
Royne croit que ce soit invention de la dame pour ce que le diet
Marquis luy est tant serviteur." Both M. de Gayangos and
Mr. Gairdner think that the "young Marquis" is the Marquis
of Dorset ; but it is quite clear from other letters of Chapuis
that the Marquis of Exeter is meant.
ANNE BOLEYN. 147
married or not, and the result generally was that CHAP. iv.
Henry left the field entirely cowed. Anne might
upbraid him for his want of courage, but on the
next occasion the same thing would happen,1 for the
firmness, courage, and perfect good temper of Catherine
had not yet lost their power over Henry's weak and
vacillating mind. Besides, Catherine had a great
advantage over Anne in the force of habit. Kings
and queens at that time, with all their show and
state, were much more of goodman and good wife than
is commonly imagined. A queen had a good deal to
do with housekeeping, and rendered the king many
little services which nowadays any fine lady would
think beneath her dignity. Catherine took care of
her husband's wardrobe, looked after the laundry,
and superintended the making of his linen. Henry,
accustomed to apply to her when he wanted any-
thing in daily use, continued to do so, and she did
her best to provide for his needs.2 There were sharp
quarrels about this between Henry and Anne, but it
was certain that there would be no change as long as
Catherine resided with the king. Anne had tried as
much as possible to separate them by leading Henry
away on hunting excursions, but these could not
last for ever ; he had to rejoin his court, and at court
he found the queen. One of the principal reasons
why Anne was so pleased with York Place was, as we
have seen, that there would be no apartment in it for
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., October 8 and December 6, 1529,
Yienna Archives, P.O. 225, i. Nos. 22 and 28.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., June 15, 1530, Yienna Archives,
P.C. 226, i. fol. 54.
L 2
148 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. iv. Catherine ; 1 and, indeed, when Henry went there, the
queen was left behind at Greenwich.2 But the court
was seldom in London ; and at Greenwich, Hampton
Court, and Windsor, there was plenty of room for
Catherine. Anne therefore wished to have her sent
away from court, and by stimulating the anger of
Henry she managed to obtain her object.
On Whitsunday the king and the queen dined
together, and Henry, being in an unusually amiable
mood, spoke in terms of affection of his daughter
the princess. Next day, made bold by his seeming
good temper, Catherine expressed a wish that Mary
might be allowed to come to court. He received the
request very badly, and answered that if Catherine
wished to see her daughter she might go to
the place where Mary was, and remain there as long
as she liked. This would have been the beginning of
a separation, for although Henry lacked the courage
to send his wife away, he would have found means to
prevent her return if she had once left. Catherine
saw the snare, and meekly replied that for nobody in
the world would she leave his company ; and with
this the incident came to an end.3
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., May 14, 1531, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 227, i. fol. 43.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., November 8, 1529, Yienna
Archives, P.C. 225, i. No. 24.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., May 14, 1531, Yienna Archives,
P.C. 227, i. fol. 43: "Sire disnant ces jours le Roy avec la
Royne que il a accoutume la pluspart des festes il entra a parler
des treves . . . et apres tombant en propos de la princesse yl
accusa la Royne de cruaute a cause quelle navoit faict con-
tinuellement resider son medecin aupres de la dicte princesse et
ainsy fust icelluy disne rempli dhumanite et de bonnayrete. Le
ANNE BOLEYN. 149
In June the court went to Hampton Court ; and CHAP.IV.
Henry, as was his custom at this season of the year,
spent some time in hunting in his parks. The queen
was not allowed to accompany him, as she had always
done hitherto ; he was attended only by Lady Anne
and a few favourite servants.1 About the middle of
July, while Catherine remained at Windsor,2 Henry
and Anne started on a longer excursion than any
they had . yet undertaken together. A month Catherine
after they had gone, the queen received a message afrom
to the effect that Henry wished to return to Windsor court-
and objected to see her, and that she was to retire
with her servants to the More, a house the Abbot of
St. Alban's had been made to cede to the king.3
Catherine had no alternative but to obey ; and a few
days later Anne Boleyn made her entry as the future
queen.
This was certainly a great triumph, for not only
lendemain que cela fust advenu la Royne sur confiance desdictz
gracieux propos requit au Roy vouloir permettre que ladicte
princesse les vint veoir, laquelle requeste il rebroua assez rude-
ment et luy dit quelle pouveoit aller veoir ladicte princesse si elle
vouloit et y demourer aussy. A quoy tres prudemment et
gracieusement luy repondit la Royne que ne pour fille ne pour
autre personne du monde elle ne vouleoit eslougnier sa compaignie
et a tant demeura icelle practiqUe."
1 E. Chapuis to Charles Y., June 24, 1531, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 227, i. fol. 53 : " N'ayant en sa compaignie que la dame, le
grant escuyer et deux autres et y a pres de quinze jours quil na
faict autre."
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., July 17, 1531, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 227, i. fol. 55.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., August 19, 1531, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 227, i. fol. 61.
150 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. iv. was a dangerous influence removed, but Henry's
vanity and obstinacy were now engaged, and it had
been made more difficult for him to draw back.
Anne tried also to strengthen her cause by securing
for her adherents nearly every vacancy which occurred
at court, in the administration, and in diplomacy.
Stokesley, a prominent advocate of the divorce, had
been duly installed Bishop of London, Gardiner had
become Bishop of Winchester, and the archbishopric
of York, which Reginald Pole had just refused, was
given to Dr. Edward Lee, one of Anne's most zealous
supporters. Dr. Foxe, formerly Gardiner's colleague
at Rome, was made almoner instead of Lee. Sir
Francis Bryan, Anne's cousin and friend, was ambas-
sador in Paris ; and Sir Nicholas Carew, who had
married Bryan's sister, was sent on special missions
first to the emperor and then to France. Sir Nicholas
Harvey, whose wife (widow of Sir Richard Wingfield)
was much liked by Anne, had been appointed am-
bassador at the court of the emperor ; 1 and when he
was considered unfit for the post, Sir Thomas Elyot,
who, after the downfall of Wolsey, had attached
himself to Anne, was nominated in his stead.2
Untrust- But there was one annoying circumstance : the
worthiness new bishops, as soon as they were installed, became
friends, much less ardent in their zeal for the divorce. The
lay officials also cooled down. When Sir Nicholas
Carew was at the imperial court, both he and his
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., June 10, 1530, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 226, i. fol. 52.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 10, 1531, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 227, i. fol. 63.
ANNE BOLEYN. 151
colleague, Doctor Eicliard Sampson, dean of the chapel, CHAP.
had secret audiences with the emperor, and assured
Charles that they greatly regretted the demand for a
divorce, and that they would do all they could to resist
it, and to serve the queen.1 Sir Thomas Elyot, too,
soon became a strong opponent of the divorce, and
even wrote a treatise against it which he showed to
the king, and a copy of which he sent to Spain.2
Dr. William Bennet, one of the principal agents at
the papal court, secretly assured the emperor that,
if no weakness were shown, Henry would give way
and plead his cause at Rome.3 When on leave in
England, Bennet wrote to Catherine to express his
devotion to her. Whatever he had done against her,
he said, he had been forced to do ; and he predicted
that if she remained firm she would ultimately
succeed.4 There is good reason to believe that
Bennet acted as he spoke, and that at Eome, while
officially and publicly pressing for a divorce, he
1 Charles V. to E. Chapuis, March 14, 1530, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 226, ii. fol. 19: "Le grand escuyer et doyen nous ont
parle chascun deulx particulierement demonstrans avoir gros
regret de la poursuite que le diet Sr. Roy f aict centre nostre dicte
tante et quilz desireroient dy pouvoir faire service et davantaige
ma diet ledict grant escuyer quil vous advertiroit de ce quil pour-
roit entendre concernant nostre service et celluy de nostre dicte
tante. . . ."
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., June 5, and July 11, 1532, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 227, iii. fols. 42 and 50.
3 Charles V. to Chapuis, May 11, 1530, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 226, ii. fol. 35 : " Que le Roy dangleterre . . . se con.
descendroit a ce que laffaire soit connue et videe a Rome."
4 E. Chapuis to Charles V., January 4, 1532, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 227, iii. fol. 1.
152 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. iv. privately let the Pope know that in his opinion it
ought not to be granted, that the cause ought to be
tried at Kome, and that the decision should be in
favour of Catherine.1
This secret or open hostility of most of the
courtiers and officials made it hard for Anne to
obtain any decided advantage over her enemies.
Her fight was a weary one, something like the work
of the Danaides, and in the autumn of 1531, scarcely
any progress had been made.
ChariesV. Henry would have liked to disregard papal inhibi-
and the J _ .
divorce, tions, to obtain some pretence ot divorce in Jhmgland,
and to marry Anne immediately afterwards. But
there were several difficulties in the way. First of
all, Charles V. had so warmly taken up the cause of
his aunt that if such a course were adopted he might
proceed to acts of open hostility. And Henry, how-
ever much he might boast of his power, knew very
well that single-handed he could not withstand the
emperor. If war broke out, a Dutch fleet would
land a body of Spanish and German veterans
on the eastern coast, and Henry would have no
troops capable of opposing them. His raw, prob-
ably disaffected levies, would be scattered like
chaff before the wind, and the crown would be
torn from his brow. If he wished to pursue a
bold policy, it was indispensable that he should
conclude an alliance with France ; and the tone of
the French ministers had not of late been such as
1 Micer Mai to Charles V., February 29, 1532, British Museum,
Add. MSS, 28,584, fol. 206.
ANNE BOLEYN. 153
to reassure him. Jean Joaquin had shown no favour CHAP. iv.
to religious innovations, and had occasionally behaved
with something like contempt towards the king ;
while in France Sir Francis Bryan, and Foxe, who
had been sent to assist Bryan, thought they had
some reason to complain of the French.
Henry, therefore, before proceeding further, wished
to make sure that King Francis would not fail him
at the proper time. The new Bishop of Winchester
was sent to France to take the place of Bryan and
to negotiate a treaty of closer alliance.1 He was
well received, and de la Pommeraye, who had suc-
ceeded Jean Joaquin as ambassador in England, was
instructed to discuss the conditions. After some
haggling as to the terms a treaty was signed at
Greenwich in April, 1532, by de la Pommeraye
on the part of France, and by the Earl of Wiltshire
and Dr. Foxe on the part of England.2
In the new treaty it was stipulated that if the Treaty
emperor attacked England Francis should assist prance.
Henry with 500 lances and a fleet mounted by 1,500
men, and that if France was attacked Henry should
send 5,000 archers and a similar fleet to the assistance
of the French king. The stipulation in favour of
England was wholly illusory ; for if Charles had
invaded England, he would have done so with such
rapidity that the French fleet would not have had
time to arrive. The 500 lances might have served
to defend Calais, but the war would have been decided
1 Francis I. to Mr. de la Pommeraye, January 13, 1532, Paris,
Bibl. Nat. MSS. Fr. vol. 4126, fol. 5.
2 Camusat, Meelanges historiques, ii. fols. 84 — 88.
154 ] ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. iv. before they could have reached England. On the
other hand, the English fleet and the 5,000 archers
might have been of some use to France in a
regular campaign of four or five months. There
was, moreover, this point, which had been over-
looked by those who in England wished for the
treaty, that it bound Francis to do less than it
would have been his interest to do in any case.
If Charles had overthrown the government of Henry,
Catherine would have governed for Mary, and England
would have sided with the emperor against France.
Francis could not have allowed this, so that, treaty
or no treaty, in case of attack, he would have
done his best to assist Henry against Charles. In
the end England would not have profited by the
intervention of France, for on account of Calais the
French were at heart hostile to the English, and had
Francis overthrown the emperor he would soon have
turned against Henry.
But the French influence was now paramount at
court. The sympathies of Anne were all in favour
of the land in which she had been brought up. The
Duke of Norfolk was a strong partisan of France, and
Cromwell had not yet sufficient authority to control
foreign policy. Henry, himself but a poor politician,
ascribed undue importance to the treaty, and on the
30th of April he ratified the act of his commissioners.1
Assem- While the treaty was being negotiated, attempts
Parlia- w^re made by ministers to organise their forces.
ment. Parliament had met on the 15th of January. It
had been carefully convoked, most of the queen's
1 Camusat, Meslanges historiques, ii. fol. 88.
ANNE BOLEYN. 155
partisans having either been excused from attending CHAP. iv.
or having received no writ at all. Tunstall and
Fisher were among the latter. Tunstall stayed away ;
but Fisher, more courageous, and nearer to London,
attended as usual.1 The bishops who appeared in
their places were sounded as to the assistance which
might be expected from them ; and the great majority
were found to be hostile to any measure which might
smack of revolt against the authority of Eome. No
hope could be entertained of a joint action of the
English episcopate in favour of Henry. Another
way had to be tried.
If the bishops as a body could not be made to Arch-
further the king's designs, it seemed possible that ^srhh°^m
their chief and representative, the primate, might be
bullied or coaxed into complying with Henry's wishes.
It was thought he might be induced to call in a few
bishops who could be relied upon, to open a court as
primate of all England, to accept in its widest sense
the doctrine that the king was the supreme head
of the Church of England, to disregard entirely the
papal authority and all inhibitory briefs, and to proceed
to try the case. Archbishop Warham had acted with
Wolsey in the infamous attempt at a collusive suit in
1527 ; he had continued for several years afterwards
most docile to the king ; and when he abandoned
Henry's side his timidity was in striking contrast
with the energy of Fisher. Ira principis mors est,
he had piteously replied when Catherine had asked
1 E> Chapuis to Charles V., January 22, 1532, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 227, iii. fol. 8.
156 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. iv. his advice. Not unnaturally, therefore, it was sup-
posed that the king's anger might frighten him once
more into obedience.1
Norfolk and Wiltshire submitted the matter to him
and tried to gain him over.2 But the utmost limit
of Warham's servility had been reached. He was
seriously ill, dying in fact, and the inevitable having
lost something of its terrors, he dared affront the
royal anger although it might be death. He thought
of the anger of a greater King before whom he
would soon have to appear, and steadfastly
declined to associate himself with a dishonourable
scheme.
Lay All spiritual authorities having refused their help,
Tribunals. . %
it remained to be seen whether a general consent ol
the laity might not be obtained. About the middle
of February the Duke of Norfolk assembled a number
of the leading peers and members of the Lower
House, and told them he had been informed that
matrimonial causes ought not to be judged by ecclesi-
astical but by lay tribunals. He wished to know
what was their opinion on this subj ect, and what they
would do to preserve the rights of the crown. Lord
Darcy, formerly an ally of Norfolk and a bitter enemy
of Wolsey, was the first to speak. He flatly con-
tradicted the duke, maintaining that the cognisance
of matrimonial causes belonged to the spiritual courts,
and that laymen had nothing to do with them. The
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., June 6, 1531, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 227, i. fol. 47.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., February 14, 1532, Yienna
Archives, P.C. 227, iii. fol. 15.
ANNE BOLEYN. 157
other lords sided with Darcy, and the duke's attempt CHAPPY.
utterly failed.1
Henry was greatly vexed by Norfolk's failure, and An
„ i i P • A immediate
for a moment he thought of marrying Anne at once, marriage
She seems to have been willing, and the French am- vroi)osed-
bassador approved of the plan, which (from Henry's
point of view) might, after all, have been the wisest.2
But the council was strongly opposed to it. Anne's
father, who was never in favour of a hazardous course,
knew that if Henry married his daughter before
Catherine was divorced, there would be a general
outcry; he feared that the government would be over-
thrown, and that he would lose everything he had
gained by a most laborious and servile life. He spoke,
therefore, against an immediate marriage, and Henry,
seeing his council unanimous, reluctantly gave way.3
From this time there was a growing enmity between
Anne and her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, which drove
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., February 14, 1532, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 227, iii. fol. 15.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., April 16, 1532, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 227, iii. fol. 26. The French ambassador said to Chapuis :
" Que si ce Roy avoit en vie de soy remarier quil nestoit pas bien
conseille de perdre temps et argent a faire tant de poursuites
ains a lexemple du Roy Loys devrait sans autre proces expouser
celle quil veult."
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., May 29, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 228, i. fol. 77: "Apres ce il [the Duke of Norfolk] se
commenca descharger quil navoit este ne promoteur ne faulteur
de ce mariaige ains lavoit tous jours dissuade et neust este luy et
le pere delle, que contrefit 1\3 malade et le frenetique pour avoir
meilleur moyen de contredire, ce mariaige se fust fait il y a ung
an passe, dont la dame fust fort indignee et centre lung et centre
lautre."
158 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. IT. him at last into the camp of her enemies. She was
offended with her father, too ; and sharp taunts which
passed between them led to a complete estrangement.1
The Although an immediate marriage was impossible,
c^r£in there was nothing to prevent Anne and Crom-
attacked. well from preparing the ground for further action.
They wished to deprive the church of the last rem-
nants of independence, and the end of the session
was marked by an energetic attack on its privileges.
Convocation was pressed by the royal ministers to
declare that the clergy had no right to make ordinances
in provincial councils without the royal assent.
Gardiner, now installed Bishop of Winchester, argued
strongly against the declaration, but all to no avail ;
convocation had to give way, and to admit that pro-
vincial ordinances and canons should be revised by a
WarJiaris royal commission.2 Warham was indignant at the
prc est. jnjury c"lone to his order, and from his bed he dictated
a formal protest against all encroachments on the
ecclesiastical power, asserting that he would not allow
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., May 29, 1533, Vienna Archives, P.O.
228, i. fol. 77 : " Puis huict jours ayant la dame print une piece
comme font icy les femmes ensainctes pour supplir aux robes que
se trouvent tropt estroites son diet pere luy diet quil falloyt
louher et regracier dieu de la veoer en tel estat, et elle en lieu de
merciement en presence des ducz de Norphoc et Sufforc et du
tresourier de Ihostel respondit quelle estoit en meilleur estat
quil neust voulu."
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., May 13, 1532, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 227, iii. fol. 32 : " Le chancelier et les evesques contrarient
ce quilz peuvent de quoy le Roy est tres indigne especiallement
contre le diet chancellier et levesque de Vuinchestre et sobstine
fort le Roy de fere passer la chose ; " and Strype, Ecclesiastical
Memorials, vol. i. part i. p. 130.
ANNE BOLEYN. 159
himself to be bound by any statute or agreement,
and claiming the whole of his episcopal authority.1
This made it very difficult for Henry to bring his
case before a tribunal appointed by himself, for
although he might refuse to appear at Kome, he could
not with any show of reason deny that the arch-
bishops had hitherto exercised the functions for
which Warham contended. Henry himself had so
often asserted that the matter of the divorce ought to
be tried by the primate that it was impossible for
him now to take up a different position.
Warham might have been put on his trial
for some imaginary offence ; but this would have
created an immense scandal, and the difficulties of the
divorce would only have been increased. Besides,
fear of worldly consequences had no influence over
a dying man. Nothing, therefore, could be done, and
matters remained in suspense.
This was most annoying to Anne, for every delay An
became the occasion of fresh complications. During ™^
the summer an intrigue was spun against her, which, Anne.
if it had succeeded, would have stopped her further
career. Her former admirer, Sir Henry Percy, who
had now become Earl of Northumberland, had
married Lady Mary Talbot, daughter of the Earl of
Shrewsbury. The marriage had not been happy,
the wayward and violent young earl having soon
quarrelled with his wife ; and for the last two
years he had abstained from her company. Being
questioned by her as to the cause of his behaviour,
1 Protestation of Archbishop Warham, February 24, 1532,
Burnet, Collectanea, part iii. book ii. No. xxv.
160 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. iv. he replied that he was not her husband, that he had
long ago been betrothed to Anne Boleyn, and that
in consequence of this pre-contract any subsequent
marriage was illegal. The countess fancied that this
statement afforded her a chance of obtaining release
from one with whom she had led an unhappy life,
and that it would be an obstacle to the marriage of
the king and Anne. She wrote to her father giving
her account of what the earl had said, and asking
that the matter should be laid before the king. But
Lord Shrewsbury, though an enemy of Anne, was a
cautious man. Had he done as his daughter desired,
he would not have gained much ; the letter would
have been at once communicated to Anne, who would
have found means to defend herself. It was accord-
ingly taken to the Duke of Norfolk, by whom it was
handed to his niece.
Anne at once chose the boldest course. She showed
the letter to the king, and insisted that the affair
should be investigated. At her request Northumber-
land was sent for and strictly examined. Whatever
the young earl might have said in a fit of passion to
his wife, he was not the man to abide by it in
cold blood. He knew that for having concealed a
fact so closely affecting the king's honour he might
almost be charged with treason, and that if, by
revealing it now, he rendered the marriage of Anne
and Henry nearly impossible, he would draw on
himself the hatred both of the king and of the
lady. Before the council he denied that any pre-
contract existed between him and Anne, and this
statement he solemnly repeated before the Archbishop
ANNE BOLEYN. 161
of Canterbury.1; Anne had once more defeated the CHAP. iv.
plots of her enemies.
The hearing of the earl's deposition was the last Death of
important act of Warham's life. He was far advanced
in age, and his strength had for some time been fail-
ing. The difficulties of his position, the profound
alarm and displeasure he felt at the turn things were
taking, preyed heavily on his mind. His body was
not able to bear the strain any longer, and on August
the 23rd of August he died. 23> 1532'
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., July 22, 1532, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 227, iv. fol. 57 ; and Earl of Northumberland to Cromwell,
May 13, 1536, Burnet, Collectanea, part iii. book iii. No. 49.
VOL. I. M
CHAPTEE V.
THE MARRIAGE.
CHAP. v. THE death of Warham removed the chief obstacle
in the way of Anne. The stubborn resistance of
the primate during the last year had hampered her
efforts, and had made it impossible to obtain a
divorce in England. Now this difficulty was at an
end. It was Henry's duty to choose Warham's
successor, and he would of course appoint a man
certain to do his bidding. The new primate, when
installed, would be ordered to open a court and to
hear the cause, and immediately after the decision
Henry would publicly marry Anne.
Anne's On the 1st of September, eight days after Warham's
ttesfy- death, the courtiers were treated to a ceremony of a
nificance. rather extraordinary kind. Lady Anne Eochford
September was °n that day created Marchioness of Pembroke
i, 1532. w'L\h remainder to the heirs male of her body. The
words " lawfully begotten," which were generally in-
serted in patents of creation, were significantly left
out ; any illegitimate son whom Anne might have,
would be entitled to the dignity.1 A thousand
1 Order of the Ceremony, Gairdner, Letters and Papers, vol. v.
p. 522 ; and Patent of Creation, September 1, 1532, Ibid. p. 585.
ANNE BOLEYN. 163
pounds in lands were at the same time settled on CHAP. v.
the new marchioness, and a few days later she
received a present of jewels taken by royal command
from the queen.1
What was the reason for this extraordinary step ?
There seems to be but one explanation. Hitherto
Anne, uncertain how long it would take to obtain a
divorce, had feared that if she yielded to the king, his
passion might cool before she could become his wife.
After the death of Warham there was less reason to
dread this result, and it is highly probable that
having obtained a promise that the new archbishop
would forthwith pronounce a divorce, she became the
king's mistress. But even now she was cautious, and
to provide against the worst, against any unforeseen
event that might prevent her marriage, she asked for
a title for herself and any illegitimate son she might
bear, and for a grant of lands and jewels. No other
theory will account for all the circumstances — the
curious wording of the patent, the promotion of
Anne immediately after Warham's death, the
nomination of Cranmer, and the premature birth of
Elizabeth.
The lovers were not to spend their honeymoon Henry
in perfect quiet. Henry, who always attached too Pr°P°ses
much importance to mere professions of friendship, view with
had expressed a wish to confirm the alliance between Franci8L
England and France by an interview with Francis.2
1 Grant of Annuity, Gairdner, Letters and Papers, vol. v.
p. 585 ; and E. Chapuis to Charles Y., September 5, and October 1,
1532, Vienna Archives, P.O. 227, iii. fols. 57 and 63.
2 Francis I. to Giles de la Pommeraye, January 13, and
M 2
164 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. v. Eemembering the costliness of the famous meeting
of 1520, and the bad results which had sprung from
it, Francis was not very eager to grant the request ;
but Henry was pressing, and in the summer of 1532
de la Pommeraye, at his solicitation, went to France
to arrange the conditions of an interview.1 On
June, de la Pommeraye's return in June the King of
1532
England surrendered one after another certain ridicu-
lous pretensions on which he had at first insisted ;
and the Duke of Norfolk assured de la Pommeraye
that Francis should be treated throughout as the
superior.2 It was agreed that in October the two
kings should meet at Boulogne and Calais, that no
exorbitant display should be made, and that the
number of their attendants should be limited.3
Francis, having no longer any pretext for declining
the proposal, ratified what his ambassador had done,
but asked that the agreement should be kept secret
until the very eve of the meeting, so that it might
appear to happen by mere chance. This, however,
would not have served the King of England, and
scarcely had the convention been concluded when the
September 15, 1532 (the latter wrongly dated 1531), Paris,
Bibl. Nat. MSS. Fr. 4126, fols. 2 and 5.
1 Giles de la Pommeraye to the Bishop of Auxerre, June 21,
1532, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 547, fol. 93 ; and
E. Chapuis to Charles V., May 13, 1532, Vienna Archives, P.O.
227, iii. fol. 32.
2 Giles de la Pommeraye to A. de Montmorency, Paris, Bibl.
Nat. MSS. Fr. vol. 3094, fol. 145.
3 G. du Bellay to A. de Montmorency, September 10, 1532 ;
and "Ordo observandus in conventu. . . ." Paris, Bibl. Nat.
MSS. Dupuis, vol. 547, fols. 133 and 135.
ANNE BOLEYN. 165
secret was allowed to leak out. During August it CHAP. v.
became generally known in London.1
Henry wished to take Anne with him to meet his
royal brother of France, first, because he now found it
very hard to be deprived of her company even for a
few days, secondly, because he hoped that Francis
might be brought to treat her as a person who was
shortly to be the Queen of England, whereby a certain
sanction would be given to the divorce. De la
Pommeraye was asked to obtain an invitation for her
from France, and wrote to Montmorency explaining
the king's wishes.2 Guillaume du Bellay (brother to
Jean, Bishop of Bayonne) was now sent to England
to arrange the details of the meeting; and, in reply
to de la Pommeraye's suggestion, he brought a September
message for Henry which was capable of being '
interpreted as an invitation for Anne.3
Thereupon, early in September, privy seals were
sent out to a number of Lords to hold their wives
in readiness to accompany the king's cousin, the
Marchioness of Pembroke, whom King Francis had
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., July 29 and August 9, 1532, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 227, iii. fol. 52, and P.O. 227, iv. fol. 60.
2 G. de la Pommeraye to A. de Montmorency, July 23, 1532,
Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Fr. vol. 3003, fol. 23. This letter has
been ascribed by Legrand (vol. iii. p. 553), by Mr. Froude, and
by Mr. Gairdner to Jean du Bellay. But by a comparison with
the postscript to the paper in vol. 3094, fol. 145, which is a
holograph, it clearly appears that the letter must have been
written by de la Pommeraye. The copy at Paris is dated July 23,
while Legrand prints July 21.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 15, 1532, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 227, iii. fol. 61.
166 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. v. invited to be present at the meeting.1 These messages
were received with much indignation ; nevertheless,
as disobedience might have proved dangerous, Anne
would certainly not have lacked attendance had not
a new difficulty arisen.
Who shall Francis had been quite willing that Anne should be
Anne? brought to Calais or even to Boulogne. But when
Henry had desired that the new marchioness should
be met by some French lady of high rank, Francis
had not shown the same readiness. The Queen of
France was out of the question, for in outward
things her husband retained some of the manners of
a gentleman, and he would not ask her to meet
the mistress of Henry — he would not oblige Leonor
to greet the woman who was conspiring against the
happiness of her aunt. But, Henry had suggested,
might not Marguerite, the king's sister and titular
Queen of Navarre, be induced to attend ? She was
known to be hostile to the emperor, who kept her
husband out of the kingdom to which he pretended,
and she belonged to that party in France w^hich showed
most enmity to the pretensions of Borne;
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 15, 1532, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 227, iii. fol. 61: "Et davantaige a eu charge
le diet Langey de prier et requerer de la mesme part ce Roy de
vouloir mesner et conduire dela de la mer en sa compaignie la
nouvelle marquise. Syl na eust telle charge yl souffist que le
diet ambassadeur le donne ainsy dentendre et quil avoue le Roy,
lequel a dernierement escript a plusieurs seigneurs quilz tinssent
prestes et en ordre leur femme pour accompaigner sa tres chiere
et tres aymee cousine la Marquise de Pembrot laquelle a la priere
de son bon frere et perpetuel allie le Roy de France il a de mesner
a cette assemblee."
ANNE BOLEYN. 167
But Marguerite — although an enemy to emperor CHAP. v.
and to pope — objected to the divorce. She had some
generous feelings, and had spoken strongly of the
shameful way in which votes had been obtained for
Henry.1 She refused to go, and Francis does not seem
to have been very anxious to overcome her reluctance.
When de la Pommeraye brought this unwelcome
message, he added that the Duchess of Vend6me might
receive Lady Pembroke ; but Anne was too well in-
formed as to French court scandal not to know that
the good duchess, the worthy mother of Antoine de
Bourbon and grandmother of the king " vertgalant,"
had led the gayest and not the most irreproachable of
lives. Her court was still anything but strict in morals,
and had it been decided that she, of all the princesses
of France, should accompany Francis, Anne, instead of
being honoured, would have been made ridiculous. So
Henry in his turn objected to Madame de Yendome,
and Anne preferred not to be met by anybody.2 The
ladies by whom she was to have been accompanied
were released from the obligation to attend her.
1 Dr. Ortiz to the Empress, February 7, 1533, British Museum,
Add. MSS. vol. 28,586, fol. 217.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., October 1, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 227, iii. 63. Carew sent word to Chapuis : " Et davantaige
que ce roy nestoit pas tropt content a cause que Ion luy avoit
donne quelque fumiere et espoir que le Roy de France meneroit
avec luy en contrecharge de la dame sa sueur madame delanson
et que maintenant ilz disoient quelle estoit malade et que en son
lieu se trouveroit Madame de Yandosme de quoy ceulx cy ne se
contentent disant que comme la dicte Dame de Yandosme a ete
autreffois bonne compagne quelle aura quelque compagnie cor-
respondente au temps passe et de male reputacion, que sera uce
honte et injure pour les dames de pardeca."
168 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. v. As the time for the proposed meeting approached,
Dissatis- the temper of the English nobles did not improve.
^English" ^ French alliance was very unpopular, and it was
nobles, feared that if the conference took place the country
might be dragged into unprofitable wars. The
nobles knew also that attendance on the king
would involve considerable expenditure, for, not-
withstanding the sensible message of Francis as to
simplicity and economy, Henry wanted his followers
to make a fine display. And for all this they
expected to get nothing but French sneers.1 All
the courtiers with the exception of the Boleyn
fraction were, therefore, violently hostile to the meet-
ing ; and the Duke of Suffolk — although he was a
pensioner and partisan of France — dared even now to
remonstrate with the king. Being rewarded for his
pains by a volley of abuse,2 he went to his country
seat, determined, if possible, to be late in his pre-
parations and to miss the time for the interview.3
Lord Oxford, the high chamberlain, more prudently
expressed his ill humour in conversation with his
friends, asserting that the whole matter had been
brewed between the king, Anne, and de la
Pommeraye, to the total exclusion of the council.4
Sir Nicholas Carew, who was sent over to France to
hasten the arrival of Francis, was heard swearing that
1 G. de la Pommeraye to A. de Montmorency, July 23, 1532,
Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Fr. vol. 3003, fol. 23.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 5, 1532, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 227, iii. fol. 57.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 15, 1532, Vienna
Archives, P.C., iii. fol. 61.
4 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 5, 1532, loc. cit.
ANNE BOLEYN. 169
if it lay with him he would rather do his best to CHAP. v.
prevent the accomplishment of the scheme.1 But
all was of no avail ; Henry had gone too far to
draw back, and Anne had set her heart on the
meeting.
In the beginning of October the royal party set out,
going by river to Gravesend and then proceeding to a
house of Sir Thomas Cheyne, the king's favourite and
a great friend of Anne.2 After a few days they went
by land to Dover, and on the llth they arrived at October
Calais.3 Here they heard of the arrival of Francis llj 1532*
at Boulogne on the 19th, and on Monday the 21st October
Henry rode out from Calais to meet his royal brother '
of France.4
Notwithstanding the reluctance of the English
courtiers, Henry's train presented a brave show as
it wound its way towards the French frontier, and
at any other time the king might have felt elated by
it. But at this moment the person he would have
liked most to have at his side was wanting. The
French had proved firm ; no princess had come to
Boulogne to greet the Marchioness of Pembroke, and
under these circumstances Anne herself had not
wished to accompany the king. Eiding out to meet
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., October 1, 1532, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 227, iii. fol. 63.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., October 1, 1532, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 227, iii. fol. 63.
3 Chronicle of Calais, printed for the Camden Society, p. 41 ;
and Peter Ligham to Bishop Fisher, October 12, 1532, Gairdner,
Letters and Papers, vol. v. p. 600.
4 Account of the meeting at Boulogne, Camusat, Meslanges)
ii. fol. 106.
170 ANNE EOLEYN.
CHAP. v. Francis, therefore, Henry smarted under a double
injury ; the honour he had wished to be shown to Anne
had been refused to her, and he himself was about to
be deprived of her company for three days. He
had become so accustomed to her presence that
he could scarcely bear to be away from her even for
one day.
Meetingof Francis, though firm on this point, was most
and obliging in every other respect. At the limit of his
Henry, territory he stood ready to receive his guest, and
when Henry arrived, they embraced tenderly, and
after prolonged demonstrations of mutual affection
rode together towards Boulogne. According to the
promise made by Norfolk to de la Pommeraye, Henry
was going to ride at the left of the French king ; but
Francis, having obtained this acknowledgment of his
superior rank, desired to show all courtesy to his
guest and insisted on giving him the place of honour. l
At Boulogne the King of England was splendidly
entertained for three days ; and he tried to gain
Francis and the French courtiers over to his views by
studied amiability and liberality. With the greatest
of the French noblemen he played at cards or dice,
and he was careful to lose considerable sums.2 To
Montmorency, Chabot Brion, Cardinal du Prat, Jean
du Bellay and Jean Joaquin de Yaulx, he offered
pensions, the full value of which Francis allowed
1 Account of the meeting at Boulogne, Camusat, Meslanges,
i. fol. 106.
2 Privy Purse Expenses of Henry VIII., British Museum,
Add. MSS. 20,030; and Gairdner, Letters and Papers, vol. v.
pp. 760 and 761.
ANNE BOLEYN. 171
them to accept, although he would not permit them CHAP. v.
to receive regular annual payments.1 On others
Henry bestowed costly jewels or chains of gold, and
when the sons of Francis came to visit him at his
house he made them a present of the bonds their
father had signed to obtain money for their release
from Spain.2
On Friday, the 25th, the two kings went together October
to Calais, where Francis was to return the visit 25' 1532*
paid to him. On his arrival he sent the provost of
Paris to Anne with a valuable jewel, which he begged
her to accept.3 On Sunday, when Francis had supped October
with Henry, some masked ladies dame in and began
to dance with the French king and his courtiers.
After a short space the ladies took off their visors,
when it appeared that Anne was among them.4
Whatever mortification she may have felt, she was
too clever to show it ; and Francis did his best
to make her forget that she had been slighted.
Anne's natural sympathies being in favour of
France, they Were soon on very good terms, and they
had a long political conversation in which the
1 Accounts of E. Fowler, November 1, 1532, R.O. Henry VIII.
Box N; and Permission granted by Francis I. to Cardinal
Duprat, A. de Montmorency, and Ph. de Chabot Brion, March
18, 1534, Paris, Bibliotheque de 1' Arsenal, Registres Conrart,
vol. xv.
2 Account of the meeting at Boulogne, Camusat, Meslanges,
ii. fol. 108.
3 Account of the meeting at Boulogne, Camusat, Meslanges, ii.
fol. 108.
4 Wynkin de Worde, The Manner of the Tryumphe. Gairdner,
Letters and Papers, vol. v. p. 624.
172 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. v. French king made all kinds of vague promises.1
" Good reasons," Chapuis remarks, "the King of
France had for it, for the lady serves him better than
Wolsey ever did, without asking for 25,000 ducats a
year." 2 So the three days at Calais passed pleasantly
October enough, and when, on Tuesday the 29th, Francis
29 1532
took his leave, Henry upon the whole felt satisfied
with the result of the meeting. The French king
rode that day to Boulogne, and after a short stay
went to Amiens to fulfil some of the obligations he
had undertaken at Calais. Henry and Anne were
detained by contrary winds, and could not cross until
Norember the 13th of November.3 They spent a few days at
is, 1532. j)over> an(j proceeding by slow stages arrived on the
24th at Eltham.4
Results During the interview, a treaty of alliance had been
meeting, concluded against the Turks, so worded that in case
of any real danger from Soliman it would have been of
no effect whatever.5 But, besides this, Francis had
assented to some measures for the special benefit of
Henry. The two French Cardinals of Tournon and
of Gramont were to be sent to Bologna, where
Clement was once more to meet the emperor. They
were, if possible, to prevent the pope from going too
1 J. de Dinteville to A. de Montmorency, November 7, 1533,
Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 547, fol. 276.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 15, 1532, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 227, iii. fol. 61.
3 Chronicle of Calais, p. 44.
4 E. Chapuis to Charles V., November 26, 1532, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 227, iii. fol. 71.
5 Treaty of October 28, 1532, Camusat, Meslancjes, ii. fol.
109.
ANNE BOLEYN. 173
far in favour of Charles, and to propose a meeting CHAP. v.
between Clement and Francis. They were also to
dissuade the pope from taking vigorous measures
against Henry, and to represent to him that if he
procrastinated, he might arrange everything to his
satisfaction at the interview with Francis, to which
the king of England would send an ambassador with
full power.1 To make the pope more pliant, a pro-
posal of marriage between his niece, Catherine dei
Medici, and a son of Francis, was again to be put
forward.
Henry saw in all this a proof of the friendship
and regard Francis felt for him ; and the words of
the French king had strengthened his confidence.
Francis had been most courteous, and had professed
unalterable love for his good brother of England, by
whom he had promised to stand in every emergency.2
He had repeated the advice given long ago through du
Bellay, that Henry should marry Anne without further
ado, and afterwards defend his cause at Eome or
elsewhere.3 The pope, he had said, pressed as he was
by the emperor, could not authorise beforehand the
measures on which Henry was bent ; but if the step
were taken, he might accede to it as a thing past
remedy. Charles himself would perhaps become less
hostile, and if not, Francis would throw • all his
influence into the scale and neutralise the action of
the emperor.
1 Instructions to the Cardinals of Tournon and of Gramont,
November 13, 1532, Camusat, Meslanges Historiques, ii. fol. 114.
2 Instructions to Lord Rochford, State Papers, vol. vii. p. 429.
3 J. Hanart to E. Chapuis, January 18, 1533, Vienna
174 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. v. The fair speeches of Francis made a great impres-
sion on Henry's mind. Whatever distrust may have
been excited by the French was now overcome ; he
took courage to proceed more vigorously, and without
regard for the emperor. He was carried so far by his
belief in the fine phrases of Francis that from being
indecisive and timid he became over-eager and too
self-reliant.
Thomas Anne profited by this change in Henry's temper,
Cranmer. an(^ ^ wag ^jy ^gjpg^ ^y Cromwell and by his
agents. She had already gained a most important
point, the nomination of a primate on whose absolute
servility she might rely. Thomas Cranmer, who was
chosen to succeed Warhana in the see of Canterbury,
had studied divinity at Cambridge, but had married and
had been obliged to leave his college. His wife having
died, he had taken holy orders, had returned to his
college, and had been made lecturer on divinity. When
the question of the divorce was raised he sided with
the king and Anne, and was rewarded by being made
chaplain to Lord Eochford, Anne Boleyn's father.1 He
soon exchanged the service of the Boleyns for that of
January, the king, and in January 1530, being then one of
1530. fae royal chaplains, he was chosen to accompany his
former patron, now Earl of Wiltshire, to Bologna.2
Archives, P.O. 228, ii. fol. 17 ; and Instructions to Lord Rochford,
loc. cit.
1 Catherine of Aragon's Appeal to the Pope, from Ampthill
(no date), Vienna Archives, P.O. 227, ii. fol. 61.
2 E. Cbapuis to Charles V., January 20, 1530, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 226, i. fol. 15 ; and Accounts of Sir Bryan Tuke, Gairdner,
Letters and Papers, vol. v. p. 317,
ANNE BOLEYN. 175
On the return of the earl, Cranmer remained in Italy CHAP, v.
to collect opinions in favour of the divorce and to
assist the English ambassadors at Kome.1 Towards
the end of the year he went back to England, where December,
shortly afterwards he received, as a reward for his
services, the archdeaconry of Taunton. When Henry
and Anne became dissatisfied with Sir Thomas
Elyot, then ambassador to the emperor, Cranmer was
chosen to take his place ; 2 and he started in the begin- January,
ning of 1532 to rejoin the imperial court, which was
then residing in Germany. Besides his official mis-
sion he is said to have had a secret one, namely, to
try to win over to the king's cause as many Ger-
man divines and doctors as possible.3 This he did
with considerable zeal but with little success, and he
had soon to leave those places where at least a few
doctors would have given him a favourable hearing, to
1 Cranmer to R. Crocke, Pocock, Records of the Reformation,
No. cxxx.
2 Henry VIII. to Charles V., January 25, 1532, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 227.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., January 22, 1532, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 227, iii. fol. 8 : " Lambassadeur que ce roy a advise den
voyer resider devers vostre Majeste aulieu de celuy qui est
apresent (duquel ceulxcy ne soy contentent, ne scay pourquoy)
partira dans peu de jours. Cest ung des docteurs de ceulx que
f urent a Boulogne avec le comte de Vulchier, duquel et de sa fille
il depend entierement. II a escript en faveur du divorce et est
de ceulx qui ont translate en Anglois le livre du Roy. Je doubte
quil oseroit bien avoir charge passant par les universites dalle-
maigne de veoir sil pourroit les tirer a son oppinion, soit
lutheriens ou autres ; " and E. Chapuis to Charles V., January 30,
1532, Vienna Archives, P.C. 227, iii. fol. 10 : "II plaira Vostre
Majeste y faire tenir loeul."
176 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. v. attend the court of the emperor, who was preparing
to repel the invasion of the Turks.1 He followed
Charles V. first to Vienna and then to Italy, giving
piteous descriptions of the ravages committed by the
soldiers of both parties and of the dangers he himself
had to encounter.2 At Mantua he met Dr. Nicholas
Hawkins, from whom he received the news of his
recall.3 The letter addressed to him to that effect in
the beginning of October had not reached him on
account of his travels, and he had to be content with
taking cognisance of the credentials of his successor
November Hawkins.4 On the 18th of November he took leave
18, it 32. o£ Charles, and on the following day left Mantua and
hastened back to England.5
Cranmer's Both by his character and by his ability Cranmer
c aracter. wag eminently fitted to become a useful tool in
the hands of Henry and Cromwell. He was now a
man of forty-three, rather learned, of ready wit, a
good controversialist, and withal elegant, graceful,
and insinuating. An admirable deceiver, he possessed
the talent of representing the most imfamous deeds
in the finest words. In England he had spoken
1 Cranmer to Henry VIII., September 4, 1532, Strype,
Memorials of Archbishop Cranmer, Appendix No. ii.
2 Cranmer to Henry VIII., October 20, 1532, Pocock, Records
of the Reformation, No. ccxciii.
3 N. Hawkins to Henry VIII., November 21, 1532, State
Papers, vol. vii. p. 386.
4 Henry VIII. to Charles V., October 1, 1532, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 227, iv. fol. 71.
5 Charles V. to Henry VIII., November 18, 1532, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 227, iv. fol. 76 ; and N. Hawkins to Henry VIII.,
November 21, 1532, loc. cit.
ANNE BOLEYN. 177
so strongly in favour of the divorce and against the CHAP. v.
papal authority that he could scarcely venture to
alter his tone ; and in the event of his feeling any
inclination to do so, it was believed — for his timidity
was well known — that he would be easily frightened
into any course Henry and Cromwell might prescribe.
His intellectual ability and the weakness of his Th3 king's
moral character were not Cranmer's only titles Cranmer.
to preferment. By accepting the archbishopric he
would place himself entirely at the mercy of Henry.
In Germany, at the house of Osiander, he had made
the acquaintance of a young woman by whose
charms he had been captivated. His opinions about
the celibacy of priests were as vague and shifting as
about most other subjects, and as the woman did not
object to have a priest for her husband, they went
through a ceremony of marriage. Cranmer had not
the hardihood to acknowledge publicly what he
had done, but it was not so well hidden but that
some inkling of it reached Cromwell's spies. No
action was taken against the archdeacon ; although his
marriage was clearly illegal, the matter seems not even
to have been mentioned. But it was kept in good
remembrance, to be made use of at the proper moment.
If Cranmer, after being installed as primate, should
feel tempted to follow the example of Lee and Gardiner,
should stand up for the rights and independence of
the Church and refuse to do the king's bidding, a
slight hint might be given to him that bishops could
be deprived and punished for incontinence. This
would, no doubt, suffice to ensure his immediate sub-
mission ; but if he held out, Henry might pretend to
VOL. i. N
178 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. v. have just discovered the marriage ; and Cranmer,
accused of incontinence, sentenced, and deprived,
would be sent to the Tower to make way for an arch-
bishop even more pliant, and to serve as a warning
to persons disposed to betray the king's confidence.
When a bishopric became vacant, Henry generally
waited a year or more before appointing a new bishop,
enjoying in the meantime the revenues of the see.
Cranmer But in this case unusual haste was made. A week
apPArch- after Cranmer arrived at the English court in the
bishop of noddle Of December, the see of Canterbury was
Canter-
bury, offered to him and was gladly accepted.1 After the
January, customary forms had been gone through in England,
the English ambassadors with Clement VII. were in-
structed to apply for the bulls confirming his nomina-
tion, and that no delay might arise the money necessary
for them was lent to Cranmer by the king himself.2
Had either the emperor or the pope been fully
aware of the character, opinions, and position of
Cranmer, the former would have vigorously opposed
the confirmation of his appointment, and Clement
might for once have laid aside his complaisance and
refused to issue the bulls. But Cranmer at the court
of Charles had given ample proof of his talent for
deceit. While encouraging Henry to persist in his
course, while intriguing with the Protestant doctors
to obtain their votes in favour of the divorce, he had
with the emperor and the imperial ministers played
the part of a man who was at heart wholly opposed
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., January 29, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 228, i. fol. 3.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., January 29, 1533, loc. cit.
ANNE BOLEYN. 179
to the king's policy. He had spoken with so great a CHAP. v.
show of sincerity that even Granvelle had been mis-
led.1 Carew and Sampson, Harvey and Eliot — some
of them, like Cranmer, former servants of Anne — had,
when at the imperial court, been converted into stout
opponents of the divorce, and were now rendering
valuable service to the cause of Catherine. Why
should not the archdeacon of Taunton have been
converted too ? Why should not his assurances be
taken for truth ?
It was in vain that Eustache Chapuis warned the
emperor how dangerous a person Cranmer was.2 His
words had no effect : the imperial agents offered no
opposition to the issuing of the bulls.
The pope might have been informed by his nuncio
as to the intentions of Henry and as to the character
of Cranmer, and might of his own authority have
raised some objection. But the same clever hypocrisy
by which Cranmer had succeeded at the imperial court
was practised in England towards de Burgo. One of j)e
Henry's ministers (his name is not found in the and the
i r* • \ T divorce.
despatches of Chapuis) suggested to de Burgo a way
in which the matter of the divorce might be brought
1 N. de Granvelle to E. Chapuis, September 26, 1535, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 229|-, ii. fol. 48: "Je mesbahys fort des termes
estranges que comme Ion a entendu du couste de Rome tient
larchevesque de Canturbery mesmes en laffaire des Royne et
Princesse, actendu que durant le temps quil estoit resident en
ceste court il blasmoit mirablement ce que le Roy dangleterre
son maistre et ses autres ministres f aisoient en laffaire du divorce
encontre les dictes Royne et Princesse."
2, E. Chapuis to Charles V., February 9, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 228, i. fol. 8.
N 2
180 ANNE BOLEFN.
CHAP. v. to an end. If the pope would depute two cardinals
to hear the evidence and the pleadings at some neutral
place near England, Cambray for instance, Henry
would consent to send an ambassador to plead his
cause before them.1
The nuncio swallowed the bait. Notwithstanding
the warnings and protests of Chapuis, he reported
the proposal to the pope in a way most favourable
to Henry ; 2 and his judgment was confirmed by the
two French cardinals who had arrived from Amiens.
January, They represented to Clement all the dangers of a
33' schism, and spoke of the strong friendship between
Francis and Henry. They promised, too, that every-
thing should be arranged to the pope's satisfaction if
he would consent to meet the French king.3
Clement was not indifferent to the warning con-
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., January 29, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 228, i. fol. 3.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., February 9, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 228, i. fol. 8; and Charles V. to E. Chapuis,
January 5, 1533, Vienna Archives, P.C. 228, ii. fol. 23 : "Nre
Sainct Pere (en grant secret et confidence) nous a faict entendre
comment son nonce extant en Angleterre avoit eu propos a
quelqung des gens dudict Sr Roy, mesmes de ceulx dont il se fye,
que luy avoient declare que si Nre diet Sainct Pere vouloit
remettre la connaissance et examen de la cause hors de Rome
fust a Cambray ou autre part ailleurs que en Angleterre que le
diet Roy pourroit estre induit a soy soubmettre expressement
dois maintenant au jugement de sa sainctete."
3 Instructions to the Cardinals of Tournon and of Gramont,
November 13, 1532, Canmsat, Meslanges, ii. fol. 103; Cardinals
of Tournon and of Gramont to Francis I., January 21, 1533,
Camusat, Meslanges, ii. fol. 23 ; and Frangois de Dinteville,
Bishop of Auxerre, to A. de Montmorency, January 7, 1533,
Camusat, Meslanges, ii. fol. 117.
ANNE BOLEYN. 181
veyed by the two cardinals. He had, besides, some CHAP, v,
reason to believe what de Burgo had written. It had
been generally expected that at Boulogne or Calais
Henry would protest to the French cardinals and other
prelates against the injustice done to him, and that he
would marry Anne Boleyn either at Calais or immedi-
ately after his return to England.1 Nothing of the
kind had happened ; Henry had shown no extraordi-
nary eagerness to discuss his grievances, nor had the
new Marchioness of Pembroke received anything like
royal or even princely honours. People began, there-
fore, once more to say that the marquisate had been
conferred on Anne instead of, and not as a step
towards, the crown, that Henry was getting tired of
his mistress, and that he was almost ready to desist
from his purpose of marrying her.2 Clement believed
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., August 9, 1532, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 227, iv. fol. 60 : " Bien que de quelque autre part Ion ma
averti que la dicte da me fait tout son effort pour recouvrer dames
qui la voysent accompaigner a ceste entrevue et si cela estoit il
seroit fort a doubter que pour mieux auctoriser le cas ce Roy la
vouldroit esposer en lassistance de lautre;" and E. Chapuis to
Charles V., August 26, 1532, Vienna Archives, P.C. 227, iii.fol. 55.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., August 9, 1532, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 227, iv. fol. 60 : " Je luy (la Pommeraye) demanday si le
jeusne due de Lorraine estoit en court de France pour espouser
laisnee fille de France que autreffois luy avoit este promise. Sur
ce il demeura ung espace tout pensif . . . . Lesquelz propos joinct
la myne dudict ambassadeur me font souspeconner que ce Roy,
voyant que ne pour son honneur ne pour la sehurete de son estat
ne selon conscience, avec quil se pust separer de la Royne, actendu
quil a eu affaire avec la sueur de cestecy, il ne la peut avoir, quil
vouldra entendre en la fille de France. Ne scais si les autres
seront tant despourveuz de sens quilz voulsissent hazarder une
telle princesse en dangier destre desclaree un jour une concubine
182 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. v. these reports, so that it naturally seemed to him of
no great importance who was to be Archbishop of
Canterbury, while he thought it desirable to avoid
any conflict which might anger Henry and put
English public opinion on his side. Charles V.. who
was at that time staying with the pope at Bologna?
was forced to admit that Clement might be right, and
offered no opposition.1 The warnings of Chapuis were
dismissed as the outcome of party spirit, and on the
February 21st of February Cranmer was proposed in consistory.2
There was some talk about the fees for the bulls by
which the nomination was to be confirmed ; but the
March, documents were soon made out, and in the beginning
of March they were handed to the English agents.3
The secret Delay would have been extremely inconvenient for
marriage. Anne, because the marquisate of Pembroke had begun
January, to have its natural consequences. In January 1533
she had announced to Henry that she was with child.
The news filled the king with joy ; the child of course
would be a boy, the Prince of Wales for whom he had
longed so many years. But alas, no Prince of Wales,
if Henry and Anne were not married betimes. If the
child were not at least born in lawful wedlock, it
et adultere. Et maugmente ma dicte suspecon ce que quelqung
ma faict entendre quil estoit quelque propoz de envoyer de court
la dame avec touteffois grand honneur et reputacion ; " and E.
Chapuis to Charles V., August 26, 1532, loc. cit.
1 Charles Y. to E. Chapuis, January 5, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 228, ii. fol. 23.
2 N. Hawkins to Henry VIII., February 22, 1533, State Papers,
vol. vii. p. 425.
3 Ibid. ; and Bull of Clement VII., IX. Cal. Martii, anno 1532,
Gairdner, Letters and Papers, vol. vi. p. 190.
ANNE BOLEYN. 183
would scarcely be rendered legitimate by a subsequent CHAP. v.
marriage. But a public marriage would overthrow
the whole edifice that had been so carefully reared.
The bulls for Cranmer would be refused, the divorce
would not be pronounced, and the legitimacy of
the child would still be doubtful. There was no
way out of the difficulty but by a .clandestine mar-
riage, and on or about the 25th of January, in presence January,
of a few of the most confidential attendants, the '
ceremony was performed.1
It is not quite certain who was the priest so servile The priest
and so perjured as to officiate on this occasion. Dr.
Rowland Lee, the king's chaplain, soon afterwards
appointed to the see of Coventry and Lichfield, is
generally said to have been the man ; but there is
no evidence for this, and the evidence which still exists
tends the other way. Eustache Chapuis asserts that
the priest by whom the ceremony was performed was
an Augustinian friar, whom the king rewarded by
making him general of the mendicant friars.2 This
description fits perfectly with George Brown, who in
the spring of 1533 was prior of Austin Friars in
London. In 1534 he became provincial prior of all
eremitical bodies in England, and (together with John
1 Archbishop Cranmer to N. Hawkins, June 17, 1533,
Archceologia Britannica, vol. xviii. p. 81 ; E. Chapuis to
Charles V., February 23, April 15, and May 10, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 228, i. fols. 20, 41, and 61 ; and E. Chapuis to
N. de Granvelle, February 23, 1533, Vienna Archives, P.C. 228,
ii. fol. 43. See Appendix, Note D.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., January 28, 1535, Vienna Archives
P.C. 229^, i. fol. 9 : "En recompense de ce quil fit loffice a
lepousement."
184 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. v. Hilsey) was commissioned as visitor general of com-
munities of friars of every order.1 George Brown was
certainly in favour of the divorce, and it was he who
April, on Easter day first prayed for Anne as queen from
1 ** *-jQ
the pulpit.2 He subsequently became Archbishop of
Dublin, where he showed himself a strong reformer.
The For a few weeks the secret of Henry and Anne was
kept well enough. The nuncio, ignorant of what
had taken place, and anxious to bring about a re-
conciliation, humoured Henry's caprices and allowed
himself to be made use of by the king's ministers.
Parliament had been called together for the 4th of
February, February ; and de Burgo was invited to accompany
the king to Westminster on the 8th, and to be pre-
sent at the opening of the session. Although this was
rather contrary to custom, the nuncio dared not refuse.
Henry sat on his throne, having on his right the
representative of the Holy See, while on his left was
February, the French ambassador.3 Two days later de Burgo
10 1533
was once more pressed to accompany the king to
parliament, and after having done so, he and Dinte-
ville, the new French ambassador, were ostentatiously
taken by the Duke of Norfolk and other nobles to the
house of Sir William Fitzwilliam, where a banquet
had been prepared for them.4
1 Patent to G. Browne and J. Hilsey, April 13, 1534, Gairdner,
Letters and Papers, vol. vii. p. 223.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., April 27, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 228, i. fol. 55.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., February 9, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 228, i. fol. 8.
4 E. Chapuis to Charles V., February 15, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 228, i. fol. 16.
ANNE BOLEY'N. 185
These demonstrations were not intended only or CHAP. v.
even chiefly to please de Burgo and the pope, they
were rather made for the purpose of misleading the
English public as to the policy of the Holy See. The
action of the nuncio was pointed to as unmistakable
evidence that Clement approved of Henry's course ;
and this perplexed the king's opponents and took
from ^them their best argument, the fear that the
divorce might lead to a schism.1
The short time during which this game could still be Rising
11 i -i • - r ,1 • power of
played was employed, in preparing lor the coming Cromwell.
battle. The chief management of affairs had now
passed into the hands of Cromwell. By his ability
and energy, and by his zeal in the service of the king
and Anne, he had gained the favour of both and had
rapidly increased his influence. Sir Thomas More, the
chancellor, had vainly tried to oppose him. In the
spring of 1531 Sir Thomas with his conservative
friends was still strong enough to ward off the blow
aimed at the independence of the clergy. But he
was already so suspected by the king, and his move-
ments were so closely watched, that he had to ask
Chapuis not to come to see him, and not to send him
a letter Charles V. had written to him.2 When in the
spring of 1532 further proceedings were taken to
limit the power of the bishops and the authority
of the Holy See, More stoutly resisted the innova-
tions. Henry, extremely angry, insisted that the bills
1 E. Chapuis to Charles Y., May 10, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 228, i. fol. 61.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., April 2, 1531, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 227; i. fol. 34.
186 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. v. should pass ; l' and Sir Thomas More, seeing that it
was impossible to stem the torrent, handed in his
May\§, resignation.2 It was accepted, and on the 16th of
32' May he returned the seals of his office. Thomas
Audeley, speaker to the House of Commons, a friend
and strong adherent of Cromwell, was chosen to
succeed More, but for the moment he was made only
keeper of the great seal.3
Cromwell, no longer hampered by the opposition of
More, filled every vacancy in the royal service
with determined adherents of his party. William
July, Paget, a very able young man, was made secretary to
the king and employed on important foreign missions.4
May 13, Eichard Eiche, a clever lawyer and absolutely
unscrupulous, became attorney-general for Wales, and
was afterwards preferred to the post of the king's
solicitor in England.5 Other friends and clients of
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., May 13, 1532, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 227, iii. fol. 32 : "Le chancellier etles evesques contrarient
ce quilz peuvent de quoy le Roy est tres indigne especiallement
contre ledict chancellier et levesque de Yuinchestre et sobstine
fort le Roy de fere passer la chose."
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., May 22, 1532, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 227, iii. fol. 36: "II a rendu les sceaulx se demectant de
loffice soubs couleur que son traictement estoit trop petit aussi
quil ne pouvoit la peyne. Tout le monde en est bien marry et non
sans cause car il ny eu oncques ny aura plus homme de bien en
loffice."
8 Memorandum on the delivery of the great seal, Rymer,
Feeder a, vol. xiv. p. 433.
4 E. Chapuis to Charles V., July 11, 1532, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 227, iii. fol. 50.
5 Patent, May 13. 1532, Gairdner, Letters and Papers, vol. v.
p. 484; and Patent, October 10, 1533, Gairdner, Letters and
Papers, vol. vi. p. 552.
ANNE BOLEYN. 187
Cromwell received minor appointments, and the whole CHAP. v.
administration was reorganised under his vigorous
direction.
In the beginning of 1533 the party of Cromwell
and Anne was still further strengthened. Sir Thomas
Audeley, having shown himself an obedient and
thoroughgoing servant of the king, was rewarded by
being raised on the 26th of January to the rank of ^n^j
lord chancellor.1 Those who showed themselves lax
or hostile to the divorce were so constantly watched
by Cromwell's agents that they dared not stir. It
was about this time that the secretary began to or-
ganise that formidable system of espionage by which
he afterwards made himself so terrible.
The Boleyns felt sure of success and were more
overbearing than ever. Anne herself, although she
did not tell people that the marriage had already been
performed, talked of it as a thing quite certain to
happen within a few weeks ; and she already bespoke
her future household servants.2 Lord Wiltshire had
hitherto never shown himself very ardent for the
divorce, and had for some time been even reckoned
among the opponents of it, but now he laid aside
his wonted caution. On the 13th of February he Lord
said to the Earl of Rutland, whom he happened to ^dLord
meet, that the king would no longer be so timid and Rutland.
patient as he had been, that the marriage with 13, 1533.
Anne would soon be celebrated, and that it would be
1 Memorandum on the delivery of the great seal, January 26,
1533, Kymer, Foedera, vol. xiv. p. 446.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., February 9, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 228, i. fol. 8.
188 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. v. easy by the authority of parliament to silence any
one who might disapprove of it. " If this matter is
brought forward in the house of peers," he added,
" will you, who as a personal relative of the king
should adhere to him, think of resisting him ? "
Eutland tried to escape by giving the answer that
had been hit upon by Darcy the year before ; but a
twelvemonth had changed the state of affairs, and his
objection was not allowed to pass. Wiltshire grew
very violent, and Rutland, fearing the royal anger,
promised to do all that was wanted. But being at
heart as opposed to the measure as ever, he sent a
message to Chapuis, giving an account of what had
happened. The other peers, Rutland said, would
probably be treated in the same way, and it could
scarcely be hoped that parliament would withstand
the royal will.1
The The spiritual peers, like their lay brethren,
spiritual were pressed to support the king. Two proposi-
tions had been drawn up, setting forth that the
marriage between Henry and Catherine had always
been illegal and void.2 These propositions the king
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., February 15, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 208, i. fol. 16.
2 Propositions enclosed in the letter of Chapuis to Granvelle,
February 23, 1533, Vienna Archives, P.C. 228, ii. fol. 44:
" I. Ex attestationibus testium nobilissimorum virorum scriptura
etiam tractatus inter illmos et potent™08 principes Sereme Regie
Mw et Clarme Dfie Catherine parentes conclusi confirmatis atque
aliarum allegationum . . . corroboratis, videtur nobis canonica
ac legitime fide constare Hlmum principem Arthurum clarissimam
dominam Catheriram predictam carnaliter cognovisse, nee debere
judicem quemcumque ex hujusmodi productis aliter pronuntiare,
ANNE BOLEY-N. 189
urged the prelates and doctors to subscribe. Cranmer CHAP. v.
was quite willing to do so, and asked the other bishops,
to grant the king's request. But the Archbishop of
York and Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester,
refused to set their hand to the instruments,
and their resistance was not for the moment to be
overcome. l
Though officially the marriage was still a secret, some Anne's
rumour of it soon began to be circulated. Anne had Discre-
tions.
been unable to hide her exultation at her pregnancy.
In the middle of February, in open court, she told Felruary,
the Duke of Norfolk that if she did not find herself 15> 1533-
with child she would go on a pilgrimage immediately
after Easter.2 A few days later, on the 22nd, she peiruaryf
22, 1533/
sed oportere eum hujusmodi exhibita considerantem motum animi
sui in nostram opinionem inclinare. Ita quidem sentimus et
opinamur non obstante juramento predicte dne Catherine. . . .
III. Conclusio est uno ore omnium theologorum quod non valet
matrimonium secundum si primum matrimonium erat carnali
copula consumatum. Atque ad probandum . . . unde creditur
quod clerus anglie vult fateri copulam esse plene probatam, quo
admisso statim conveniunt theologi quod matrimonium secundum
est invalid um."
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., February 23, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 228, i. fol. 20 ; and E. Chapuis to N. de Granvelle,
February 23, 1533, Vienna Archives, P.C. 228, ii. fol. 43.
2 E. Chapuis to N". de Granvelle, February 23, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 228, ii. fol. 43 : "Mgr. celluy que ma adverty des
esposailles du Roy avec sa dame est tel que la Royne- ma com-
ic ande de pouvoir escripre au rapport dicelluy comme delle mesmes.
Depuis escripte la lettre de Sa Mate jen ay parle a ung autre que
ma dit quil avoit sentu quelque vent, adjoustantque le Roy avoit
este precipite de ce fere tant pour Iyer lesleu de Canturbery que
pour ce que la dicte dame se treuve grosse ou au moins elle le
t'eindoit ainsi ; et semble quelle veult donner entendre au monde
190 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. v. came out of her apartment into the hall where a large
company was assembled. Seeing one of her favourite
courtiers (Thomas Wyatt, probably) she abruptly told
him that three days ago she had felt such a violent
desire to eat apples as she had never felt before, that
when she had spoken of it to the king he had said it
was a sign that she was with child, but that she had
replied it was not. Thereupon she broke into a violent
fit of laughter. She may have repented of her indis-
cretion, for she quickly retired, leaving the courtiers
not a little astonished at her speech.1 The con-
clusion to which they came was that Anne was either
married already or quite sure of being so within a
short time.
Towards the end of February, de Burgo could
scarcely be ignorant that he had been duped by
Henry, and that the king did not really intend to
quelle est ensaincte ou quil est ainsy, car il y a environ huict
jours que parlant au Due de Norphoc en presence de plusieurs
elle luy dit quelle vouloit aller incontinent apres pasques a ung
pellerinage de nostre dame en cas quelle ne se trouvast ensaincte."
1 E. Chapuis to N. de Granvelle, February 23, 1533, loc. cit. :
" Et hier encoires elle se desclayra ung peu plus en avant en plus
grande compaignie et sans grands propoz ne raison car ainsy
quelle sortoit de sa chambre elle commenca dire a ung quelle
ayme bien et lequel le Roy a autrefEois chasse de la court pour
jalousie delle que puis trois jours en ca elle avoit heu une in-
extimable et tresauvaige envie de manger des pommes ce que en
sa vie ne luy estoit advenu et que le Roy luy avoit dit que sestoit
signe quelle devoit estre grosse et quelle luy avoit reddit quil
nen estoit riens. Sur ce elle se print a rire si fort en sen re-
tournant en sa chambre que presque toute la court la pouvoit
ouyr desquelz propoz et gestes la pluspart de ceulx questoient en
la presence furent esbays et honteux."
ANNE BOLEYN. 191
submit to the authority of the pope. But the nuncio CHAP. v.
being a weak man, and apparently rather vain, was
slow to admit that he had been wrong and Chapuis
right, and slower still to act in accordance with the
new state of things. Meanwhile, everything had The
gone smoothly at the papal court. The pope had meeting of
agreed to meet Francis, Charles offering no great F^c^e
opposition to the proposal ; and the French cardinals pope,
had reported their success to Francis. The latter now
sent Guillaume du Bellay, Seigneur de Langey, to
London to settle with Henry all necessary details in
connection with the approaching meeting. On the
26th of February, de Langey, Jean de Dinteville,
Bailly de Troyes, the new French ambassador, and de
Beauvais, who had just arrived from Scotland, had a
long audience with the king. Henry spoke eagerly
of the conference, and promised to send to it either
the Duke of Norfolk or the Earl of Wiltshire with full
powers to arrange everything. To the demands made
by Francis in favour of Scotland he yielded, conceding
several small matters which had been in dispute ;
and all he asked in return was that the French
cardinals should be instructed to obtain a promise
that the pope would not " innovate " anything until
the interview had taken place.1 This request was
granted by Francis on condition that Henry would
in the meantime abstain from further proceedings in
the matter — a condition which Henry accepted. In March,
consequence of this arrangement the pope gladly 153a
1 G. du Bellay, de Beauvoys, and J. de Dinteville to Francis I.,
February 26, 1533, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 547,
fol. 291.
192 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP- v. consented to remain passive ; T and during the latter
part of March and the whole of April, notwithstanding
rumours which were brought to Eome, he kept his
March, word. Henry, on the contrary, almost as soon as
Francis granted his request, broke his promise, several
bills contrary to the papal authority being introduced
into parliament on the 14th and 15th of March.2
March Langey and Beauvais, who left London on the 1st of
March, must already have heard something about the
marriage, for their letter of the 26th of February to
Francis contains a hint about a secret matter which
had been disclosed to Dinteville. In these circum-
stances Henry did not think it prudent to leave
Francis any longer in the dark ; so George Boleyn,
Lord Anne's brother, now Viscount Eochford, was sent to
mis^ondto France to tell the whole truth to the king. He
Francis. was instructed to ask that the matter should be
kept secret for a while, that no steps should be taken
at Eome to defend the marriage without Henry's
consent, and that Francis should order his ambassadors
at the papal court to do everything the English agents
required of them, placing them at the command of
Bennet, Bonner, and Carne.3
March Lord Eochford left on the 1 3th of March, and tra-
velled post haste to the French court.4 He was coldly
1 Cardinal de Tournon to Francis I., Camusat, Meslanges, ii.
fol. 8.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., March 15, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 228, i. fol. 27.
3 Instructions to Lord Rochford, State Papers, vol. vii. p. 427
to 37.
4 E. Chapuis to Charles V., March 15, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 228, i. fol. 27.
ANNE BOLEYN. 193
received. Francis was probably not very sorry that CHAP. v.
the marriage had taken place ; but he resented the
way in which he had been duped. He had been made
to ask the pope not to do anything against Henry,
although Henry had already set the Holy See at
defiance. Francis had been used as an instrument
for deceiving the pope, and however ready he might
be to cheat on his own account he did not like to
be made to cheat for other people. Besides, Henry's
demands were preposterous ; Francis could not degrade
his ambassadors by transforming them into mere
tools of English agents of inferior rank ; he could not
abdicate his right to have in this matter a policy of
his own. The whole message — amplified by the foolish
bragging of young Kochford — foreshadowed a course
of action which was most distasteful to Francis. He
earnestly wished to prevent an open rupture between
Henry and the Holy See, and was alarmed and
annoyed when he heard that in England every-
thing tended towards this disaster. Eochford
seems to have made matters even worse than
they would otherwise have been by his arrogance
and by his ignorance of diplomatic forms. The Aprils
consequence was that all his requests, with the 1533-
exception of that for secrecy, were refused, and
that the French court became much less favourably
disposed towards Henry than it had been before
his coming.1 Jean du Bellay now for the first
time seriously blamed the conduct of his English
1 Francis I. to Jean de Dinteville, March 20, 1533, Paris,
Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 547, fol. 221.
VOL. I. O
194 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. v. friends ; and his disapproval was the beginning of a
growing coldness.1
Henry £ut Henry went on in his course, and Anne as-
February sumed almost royal state. On the 24th of February
24, loss. g|ie gaye a grea£ (Jinner at which, besides the king, the
Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, the Lord Chancellor,
the Duke of Suffolk and others were present. Henry
was chiefly occupied in dallying with Anne ; but,
tearing himself away for a moment from his beloved,
he called out to the old duchess to say whether the
gold and plate on the sideboard were not a goodly
show. It all belonged to the marchioness, and had
she not a great portion, and was she not a good
match ? This witticism was duly acknowledged by the
obedient courtiers, and quickly reported to Chapuis.2
March 9 A fortnight later the king and Anne went to church
1533. ^0 near a sermon, the burden of which was that Henry,
as long as he had lived with Catherine, had remained
in abominable sin, and that he was bound now to
marry a good and virtuous woman, even if she were
of lower degree than his own.3 By such speeches
the public mind was prepared for the final act which
was drawing near.
When it was announced that the pope had pre-
1 J. du Bellay to J. de Dinteville, March 20, 1533, Paris, Bibl.
Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 547, fol. 218: "Jusqua ce jour je ne
veis one homme si desraisonnable . . . je crois quil mandera que
je suis bien mauvais anglois pour ce que je ne luy ay voulu accorder
les pires raisons et les plus jeunes que passerent one a mer."
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., March 8, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 228, i. fol. 23.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., March 15, 1533, Yienna Archives
P,C. 228, i. fol. 27.
ANNE BOLEYN. 195
conised Cranmer, and that the bulls for the new CHAP. v.
primate would shortly arrive, Henry plainly revealed The Holy
the objects of his policy. About the middle of March attacked.
a bill was submitted to parliament forbidding appeals
to Eome, and settling the supreme authority in
matrimonial cases on the primate and, in certain
cases, on the convocation of the clergy. So open
an attack on the authority of the Holy See could not
but meet with considerable opposition. The House
of Lords had been carefully packed, many of the
members having received no writs, others having
been excused from attending, while the rest had
been treated as Rutland had been. But the House Resistance
of Commons, elected three years before under the HwMof
influence of Norfolk and Suffolk, had no desire to Commons.
rebel against the papacy. Those members who be-
longed to the aristocratic party — and they formed
the large majority of the House — did not wish to
augment the power of the primate or of convoca-
tion, while the burgesses of the greater towns feared
the international complications which might result
from a schism and the harm it would do to their
trade. Ministers had therefore to employ every
artifice to ensure the passing of the bill, which was
not carried for nearly three weeks.1
Similar artifices were employed to obtain an Convoca-
obedient majority in convocation, which had been tion'
summoned for the 17th of March.2 Many of the
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., March 31, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 228, i. fol. 33.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., February 23, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 228, i. fol. 20.
o 2
196 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP, v clergy were excused from attending personally, and
requested to give their proxy to some of their
brethren, whose devotion to the king could be relied
upon ; and this was done to such an extent that 119
clergymen who appeared represented 200 more whose
proxy they held. The first sitting took place on the
Marches, 26th of March, and the Bishop of London, who pre-
1533> sided, proposed the question as to the validity of
the king's marriage. The opposition, knowing that
direct resistance to the royal will was hopeless, raised
a previous question. The matter, they said, was sub
judice' at Eome ; was it permissible to discuss it
here ? But Stokesley was equal to the occasion ; he
produced a brief of Clement of the year 1530,
authorising many classes of persons to state their
opinion and to offer advice in the matter of the
divorce. The bishop boldly asserted, " summus ponti-
fex voluit unumquemque declarare mentem suam et
opiniones suas in dicta causa libere et impune." Bufc
with that dishonesty which was so characteristic of
Henry's chosen agents, he omitted to say that since
1530 Clement had recalled the permission he had
given, and had solemnly forbidden all clergymen and
doctors to meddle with the dispute.
The opposition was in a very difficult position.
They had no authentic copies of the subsequent
briefs of Clement, and even if they had had them
they would not have been allowed to appeal to them.
Stokesley might refer to a papal brief in favour
of Henry, but if his opponents had dared to produce
one against the king, that would probably have been
considered premunire, and heavy punishment might
ANNE BOLEYN. 197
have followed. Besides, the agent of the Holy See CHAP. v.
was afraid of Henry, and he had not the courage to act
firmly and decisively. The English Catholics thought
themselves betrayed by the pope himself, and after
a short but angry struggle most of them gave way.
The two propositions drawn up by Cranmer were
carried with some slight modification by nominal
majorities of 253 to nineteen and forty-one to six.
But among the majority appear the names of Cardinal
Campeggio, of Eichard Nix, Bishop of Norwich, and
of the Bishop of Chichester, all known to be
ardent opponents of the divorce.1
A copy of the Acts of Convocation recording the
votes was applied for by the royal agent, Dr.
Tregonwell ; and the request was granted on behalf
of the assembly by Cranmer, who had been con-
secrated on the 30th of March, and now presided in
the Upper House. John Fisher, Bishop of Eochester,
being so bold as to protest even at the last moment, 1533-
was arrested on the following day, and kept a
prisoner at Winchester House.2 Two days later, April 8,
having done all that was wanted for the present, 1533<
convocation was by royal decree prorogued.3
Chapuis still manfully fought a losing game. When Chapuis
he heard of the discussions in convocation and of i^wit
the passing of the Act of Appeals, he asked for an Henry.
1 Account of the Proceedings in Convocation, Pocock, Records,
No. cccxxvi.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., April 10, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 228, i. fol. 37.
3 Account of Proceedings, Pocock, Records, No. cccxxvi. ; and
Determination of Province of Canterbury, Pocock, Records,
No. cccxxvii.
198 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. v. audience ; and on the 1 Oth of April, Maundy Thursday,
April 10, he was admitted to the royal presence. He had a
long discussion with Henry, to whom he represented
the injustice done to the queen. The king replied
that he wanted to have a son, and when Chapuis
bluntly answered that he was not sure to have one
by Anne, Henry smiled complacently and hinted
that Chapuis did not know all his secrets. After
an hour of wrangling the ambassador left, and on
his return home found a message which showed that
his interview could not have had any important
result.1
Catherine The day before, a royal commission, headed by the
rgiveway. Duke of Norfolk, had waited on Catherine, and had
9> most earnestly entreated her to relinquish her title
and to submit to the king. They had recourse to
every kind of lie and artifice to shake the resolution
of Catherine ; representing the separate opinions of
the members of Convocation as a judgment passed
by a tribunal, threatening her with the king's utmost
anger if she persisted, and offering her all favour
if she would give way. Seeing that she intended
to remain firm, Norfolk exclaimed that it mattered
not, for more than two months before the king had
married the other in presence of several witnesses.
With that the commissioners retired, and soon after-
wards Lord Mount] oy, Catherine's chamberlain, came
to tell her that it was the king's pleasure she
should neither call herself nor be addressed as queen,
and that henceforward she was to live upon her dowry
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., April 10, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 228, i. fol. 37.
ANNE BOLEYN. 199
as Princess of Wales. She refused, declaring that CHAP. v.
if the king would not provide for her she would go
and beg her bread from door to door.1 Poor woman!
she imagined that she was free, that she would be
allowed to leave her house as she liked. A few
months dispelled that illusion.
Notwithstanding Catherine's resolute maintenance The secret
of her rights, the secret was now allowed to transpire.
On Thursday and Friday (the 10th and the llth of
April), the courtiers were talking freely of the fact
that on the day of the Conversion of St. Paul, the
25th of January, the king had married Anne Boleyn.
On Saturday, the 12th of April, she appeared for the
first time in royal state. Trumpeters preceded her 1533<
as she went to mass, she was followed by many
ladies, and her train was borne by the Duchess of
Eichmond, daughter of Norfolk. After the service
Henry passed from courtier to courtier, telling them
to pay their respects to the new queen. They felt
rather awkward, for although something of the kind
had been expected, they could not all at once con-
sider " Nan Bullen " a real queen. But Henry stood
watching them, and, having no choice, one after
another went and bowed to " her grace." 2 Anne
had at last arrived at the desired goal.
1 Eustache Chapuis to Charles V., April 10, 1533, loc. cit,
2 Eustache Chapuis to Charles Y., April 15, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 228, i. fol. 41.
CHAPTER VI.
THE CORONATION.
CHAP. vi. ANNE having publicly appeared as Henry's wife,
Popular it was desirable that her position should be generally
against acknowledged. Preachers were accordingly directed
Anne. ^0 substitute her name for that of Catherine in the
prayer for the king and queen. The very first
experiment made in this direction showed how strong
a feeling there was against the divorce even among
the most advanced class of Henry's subjects. On
Easter Sunday, the day after Anne's first appearance
as queen, the prior of Austinfriars, preaching at
St. Paul's Cross, prayed loudly for her. His congre-
gation, hearing the change in the long-accustomed
formula, tumultuously rose, and nearly all left,
although the service was not half over. A sharp
and threatening message from the king to the lord
mayor, transmitted by the latter to the guilds and
freemen of the city, prevented people on the
following Sunday from talking too loudly against
the new marriage ; but it could not hinder private
criticism of the king's choice and the growth of
sullen irritation.1
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., April 27, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 227, i. fol. 55.
ANNE BOLEYN. 201
Orders were sent to the country that the prayers CHAP. vi.
for the queen should henceforward be offered for
Queen Anne. In most parishes compliance with
these orders led to scenes similar to that at Cheap-
side, and in some the royal command was for a time
disobeyed. Hitherto the nation at large had taken
but a languid interest in the question of the divorce.
After the legatine court had been closed, little had
been heard about it in the country. Since the
universities had been coerced into giving an opinion,
no public action relating to it had been taken in
England ; and what was done in Rome was nearly
unknown out of London. People were therefore
taken by surprise when they heard the new name,
and understood that the divorce and the second
marriage were accomplished facts. For the next
few months the matter was discussed everywhere,
notwithstanding royal proclamations and commands.
It had become a national question in which all
Englishmen were interested.
As it was now impossible for the king to draw
back, he felt that his somewhat informal proceedings
ought to be ratified by a semblance at least of a
judgment in his favour. This the new primate was JU gment'
to give, and accordingly, on the llth of April, he Apriiiit
wrote a letter to Henry asking permission to open a 1533-
court and to adjudicate on the matter.1 The letter,
as Cranmer penned it^ was subservient enough ; it
was the letter of a servant to his master, not that of
a judge to one of the parties. But, cringing as it
1 Archbishop Cranmer to Henry VIII., April 11, 1533, State
Payers, vol. i. p. 390.
202 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vi. was, it was not considered sufficiently submissive.
Cranmer was to be taught once for all that he was
entirely dependent on the royal favour, that even in
his clerical capacity he must regard himself as a
humble agent of the king. He had to write a
second letter, even more abject than the first, in
which, prostrate at the feet of his majesty, Henry's
most devoted bedesman prayed for authority to pro-
ceed to the examination and final determination of
the matrimonial cause.1 Henry, while protesting that
he recognised no superior on earth, graciously per-
mitted the primate to hear and judge the case.2 If
any sense of dignity had survived in the archbishop,
he would have felt degraded by the position into
which he had brought himself. But Cranmer felt
no degradation.
The primate wished to follow the example of
Wolsey and Warham, and to work as far as possible
in the dark. He feared that, if his action became
generally known, the adherents of Catherine might
give some trouble, and that Catherine herself might
interject an appeal, or otherwise disturb his pro-
ceedings— a possibility to which he looked forward
with considerable alarm.3 But Thomas Cromwell,
who chiefly directed the preparations, relied on the
statute of appeal just passed, and the cause was
1 Archbishop Cranmer to Henry VIII., April 11, 1533, State
Papers, vol. i. p. 391.
2 Henry VIII. to Archbishop Cranmer, State Papers, vol. i.
p. 392.
3 Cranmer to Cromwell, May 17, 1533, British Museum, Cotton
MSS. Otho, C. x. fol. 166.
ANNE BOLEYN. 203
carried on in the usual way. A citation was served CHAP. vi.
on Catherine in the middle of April to appear on the Catherine
9th of May at Dunstable before the archbishop,
Being at first rather frightened, and not knowing
what to do, she asked the advice of Chapuis, who
very sensibly replied that Cranmer could not preju-
dice her rights, and that the best course for her
would be to take no heed of his proceedings, and
not to admit in any way that he could have juris-
diction in her case.1 Catherine, following the am-
bassador's advice, simply signed two protestations by
which she declared that she would not acknowledge 1533<
Cranmer, a former servant of Anne's father, as her
judge.2 In no other way did she take the slightest
notice of anything done by the archbishop, so that
he was able to go on with his work without let or
hindrance on her part.3
Chapuis went to the nuncio, to whom he had
brought a letter from Charles; and explaining the
state of the case, he requested de Burgo to interfere
by serving on Cranmer the papal brief which forbade
any one to meddle with or give judgment in the
matter of the divorce. But it was impossible to
1 Chapuis to Charles V., April 27, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 227, i. fol. 55.
2 Protestation of Catherine that she does not recognise Cranmer
as her judge : notarial copy by George, Bishop of Llandaff,
April 30, 1533, from Ampthill ; signed by Catherine, by George,
Bishop of Llandaff, and, as witnesses, by Thomas Abel, pryst,
el licenciado Lassao, Francisco Phelipe, Johan Soda — Vienna
Archives, P.C. 228, ii. fol. 56 ; and Appeal to the Pope, no date,
from Ampthill, draft, Vienna Archives, P.C. 228, ii. fol. 61.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., April 27, 1533, loc. cit.
204
ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. VI.
Judgment
delivered
by
Cranmer.
May 10,
1533.
May 23,
1533.
May "28,
1533.
Anne pro-
ceeds to
the Tower.
May 29,
1533.
prevail on the nuncio to do his duty ; he was per-
sonally afraid, and he still hoped to prevent the worst.
The brief remained in his chest, and this obstacle was
removed from the way of Cranmer.1
The archbishop, having opened his court on the
10th of May, pronounced Catherine contumacious;
and when the formalities prescribed by canon juris-
prudence had been fulfilled, he gave on the 23rd of
May a judgment by which the marriage between
Henry and Catherine was declared to have been null
and void from the beginning.2 A few days later
he held another court, and decided that the marriage
between Henry and Anne was good and valid.3 This
having been done, there was no longer any reason
for delaying the coronation, which in hope of this
favourable issue had been arranged to take place on
the 1st of June.
On the day after Cranmer's sentence in her favour
Anne left Greenwich, where she had been staying
with Henry, to come up by the river to the Tower.
With the indelicacy and want of feeling so character-
istic of Henry, he had thought fit to give Catherine's
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., May 10, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 228r i. fol. 61.
2 T. Bedyll to Cromwell, May 12, 1533, State Papers, vol. i.
p. 394; Archbishop Cranmer to Henry VIII., May 12, 1533,
State Papers, vol. i. p. 394 ; Archbishop Cranmer to Crom-
well, May 17, 1533, British Museum, Cotton MSS. Otho C. x.
fol. 166 ; Archbishop Cranmer to Henry VIII., May 23,
1533, State Papers, vol. i. p. 396; and Sentence given at
Dunstable, Burnet, Collectanea, part i. book ii. No. 47.
3 Sentence given at Lambeth, May 28, 1533, Rymer, Feeder a,
vol. xiv. p. 467.
ANNE BOLEYN. 205
barge to Anne ; and the arms of Catherine had been CHAP.VI.
cut down from it to make way for the apocryphal
emblems of the Boleyn family. In this barge,
attended by a numerous retinue, and followed by
nearly two hundred boats, Anne went up the river.
At the Tower she was received with the customary
ceremonies — trumpets sounded, and cannon roared —
but the people remained silent. There was none of
the enthusiasm with which in all ages Englishmen
have greeted a popular queen.1
The following day Anne spent at the Tower, and She goes
on the afternoon of Saturday, the 31st of May, she
went in great state and pomp through the city
to Westminster. By order of the king becoming 1533.
preparations had been made for the occasion : flags
were unfurled, carpets hung from the windows,
barriers kept off the crowd ; and the guilds were
drawn up in their best array on both sides of the
road. To meet the expenses a tax had been laid on
all householders, whether Englishmen or foreigners ;
but an exception had been made by the lord mayor
and his brethren in favour of the Spanish merchants,
as countrymen of Catherine.2 This piece of delicacy
shows that the Spaniards were very popular at that
moment, for otherwise the court of aldermen would
scarcely have paid much attention to their feelings.
The procession was headed by about a dozen French
merchants residing in London, dressed all alike in
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., May 29, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 228, i. fol. 77.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., May 18, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 228, i. fol. 69.
206 AISNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. VT. violet velvet, wearing on the sleeve the colours of
Anne.1 An attempt to bring over a throng of French
gentlemen to take part in the festivities had failed,
so, faute de mieux, merchants rode in their stead.2
After them rode English gentlemen and noblemen
according to their degree. Then came the lord
chancellor with Carlo Capello, the Venetian am-
bassador, and the primate with the Bailly de Troves.
They were followed by Anne's litter, all covered with
white satin, carried by two mules. A canopy was
borne over her head, and at her side rode the Duke of
Suffolk as earl marshal, and Lord William Howard
(representing his absent brother the Duke of Norfolk)
as high steward. Next came numbers of ladies
in cloth of gold and velvet, riding on hackneys,
and the old Duchess of Norfolk and Anne's mother
riding in a chariot. Lacqueys and archers closed the
procession, which from the Tower took its way by
Fenchurch and Gracechurch to Leadenhall, and thence
by Cheapside, Ludgate, Fleet Street, and the Strand,
to York Place or Whitehall.3
Annoy- Anne's triumphal progress was not without its little
anceson" annoyances. The merchants of the Steelyard had
not been able to obtain the same favours as the
Spaniards, and had been obliged by the lord mayor
to erect a pageant at Gracechurch near their house.
1 Narration de Tentree et coin-on nement, Camusat, Meslanges,
ii. fol. 17.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., April 15, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 228, i. fol. 41.
3 E. Hall, Chronicle of the Union of the Houses of Lancaster and
York, fol. 215 ; and Narration de 1'entree, loc. cit.
ANNE BOLEYN. 207
They chose to represent Mount Parnassus, on which CHAP, vi,
sat Apollo with the muses. The fountain of Helicon
ran with Rhenish wine, to the great delight of those
who were permitted to drink of it. When Anne
arrived before this pageant and halted in front, the
muses addressed her, singing verses in her praise.1
But just opposite to her was that part of the pageant
by which the German traders avenged themselves for
having been forced to raise the structure. Parnassus
was appropriately adorned with coats of arms, and
above all others, in the most honourable place, was a
great imperial eagle, bearing on its breast the emblems
of Castille and Arragon, the arms of Anne's hated
rival. Lower down came those of Henry, and, lowest
of all, the coat which the heralds had made out for
the Boleyns. Anne was well versed in heraldry, and
detected at once the insult offered to her. For the
moment she had to submit, for there was no doubt
that the emperor was of higher rank than the great-
granddaughter of good Alderman Bullen. But we
learn from Chapuis that she deeply resented the slight,
and that on the following day she tried to induce
the king to punish the obnoxious merchants.2
The English, less secure in their position than the
mighty traders of the Steelyard, were more cautious
in their marks of disloyalty. Still, they too contrived
to do some unpleasant things. The merchants of
the staple had erected a pageant at Leadenhall ; and
1 E. Hall, Chronicle of the Union of the Houses of Lancaster and
York, fol. 215.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., July 11 and 30, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 228, i. fols. 88 and 91.
208 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vi. on it sat St. Anne and Mary Cleophas with four
children, of whom one stepped forward to compliment
Anne. The child delivered a long oration, saying
that from St. Anne had sprung a fruitful tree, and
expressing a hope .that the like would be true of
this Anne also.1 As the mother of the virgin never
had any children but that one daughter, and as
Anne desired above all things to have a son, this
was not a very kind thing to say, and it can scarcely
have helped to smooth her ruffled temper.
Thecoro- It was late when the procession reached West-
*jj^{ minster, where Anne publicly accepted some wine,
1533. and then retired to her apartment. Early the next
morning, attended by the same splendid throng, she
went on foot to Westminster Abbey. There the
coronation took place with all the accustomed cere-
monies, Cranmer officiating, assisted by Stokesley
and Gardiner. After the ceremony in the church
there was the usual banquet in Westminster Hall,
which Henry, with Dinteville and Capello, wit-
nessed from a latticed window. The next morning
there was a tournament, in which, as no French
knights had come, Lord William Howard and Sir
Nicholas Carew led the opposing parties. After
this the king and Anne returned to Greenwich,
where balls and banquets continued for a few days
more.2
In the meantime the new form of prayer had
1 E. Hall, Chronicle, fol. 215.
2 Narration de 1'entree, etc., Camusat, Meslanges, fols. 17 and
18; and Sir E. Baynton to Lord Rochford, June 9, 1533, R.O.
Henry VIII. Box I.
ANNE BOLEYN. 209
been slowly bearing its fruit. The question of the CHAP. vi
divorce had been brought before the nation, and
now the nation gave its verdict. At no time was p0pu-
Catherine received by the people with such demon- l^iherme
strations of love and loyalty. In July, by order of
the king, she was removed from Ampthill to Bugden ;
and on the way great numbers of people flocked
together to see her pass. Notwithstanding her escort,
they loudly cheered her, calling out that she was still
their queen, and that they would always hold her
to be so.1 And her popularity was shared by her
daughter Mary, who — according to Anne — was
treated in the villages through which she passed
"as if she were God Himself, who had descended
from heaven." 2 Anne had been crowned, but the
nation would not acknowledge her.
Anne's old enemies, the Hanseatic merchants, con- Anne
tinued to annoy her. A numerous fleet of German
,
hulks came up the Thames and anchored opposite captain
Greenwich, where she was staying ; and to show their
animosity the Hanseatic captains invited Chapuis to
dine on board their ships. When he arrived they July,
hoisted the hateful eagles, and in honour of the
ambassador made a loud noise with shouting, drum-
ming, and firing of cannon. Anne was intensely irri-
tated by the demonstration, and Chapuis was of course
delighted at her rage. She complained to Henry, and
wanted him to punish the insolence of the Easterlings
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., July 30, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 228, i. fol. 91.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., July 11, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 228, i. fol. 88.
VOL. I. P
210 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vi. and the disloyalty of the country people.1 But the
king, under the influence of Cromwell, wisely abstained
from taking any notice of the offences of either. The
punishment of the English peasants would have made
matters even worse, and a quarrel with the Easterlings
would have been most dangerous. Their fleet was
strongly manned, the Steelyard was still fortified and
armed, and they might have proved stronger than
the king. All that Anne could do was to leave
Greenwich and to retire to Windsor out of reach
of Hanseatic bacchanals.2
However disagreeable this opposition might be,
Anne had probably expected it, and would not have
been made anxious by it, for she was aware that
popular excitement does not last long. As for
Catherine, she might be brought either to bend
or to break, and then the course would be clear
and easy. But that which filled Anne with serious
misgivings was that her allies began to fail her.
Policy of Francis I., up to April, 1533, had upon the whole
been well satisfied with the way in which Henry had
proceeded, and the conclusion of the marriage had
pleased him rather than otherwise. But he wished
Henry to continue to defend his cause at Borne
as before. This would have led to an interminable
suit, for neither the pope nor the cardinals were
willing to go to extremities ; and during the whole
time Henry would have needed the assistance of the
French, and would have sunk more and more to the
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., July 30, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 228, i. fol. 91.
2 Chapuis to Charles V., July 30, 1533, foe. cit.
ANNE BOLEYN. 211
level of a client of Francis. When, therefore, CHAP. vi.
Dinteville heard that Cranmer was to hold an May^
archiepiscopal court and to pronounce a divorce, he
strongly protested. He went to Henry and asked
that Cranmer' s sentence should either be postponed
until after the intended interview between Francis
and the pope, or be kept strictly secret. But Henry
would make no concessions : it was necessary, he said,
to place the legitimacy of Anne's child beyond doubt.
The bailly went away rather angrily and spoke to
Norfolk, who said that he regretted what was being
done as much as Dinteville, but that he could not
help it.1
It was true that it could not be helped, for Anne Anne
was bent on it. Her interests absolutely required that r French6
Cranmer should publicly pronounce sentence in her P°llcy-
favour; she could not possibly sanction the course
proposed by Dinteville. If the question of the
validity of her marriage remained in suspense, if
1 J. de Dinteville to Francis I., May 23, 1533, Paris, Bibl.
Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 547, fol. 128; and Camusat, Meslanges,
ii. fol. 128: "Sire larchevesque de Canterbery besongne sur le
grand affaire du Roy vostre diet bon frere pour juger sy lautre
Eoyne estoit sa femine ou non, et croy que dans trois jours la
sentence en sera«donnee. Je lay supplie a mon pouvoir quil luy
pleust vouloir faire dilayer le jugement aumoins jusques a ce que
nostre dit St. Pere feust arrive a Nice ce quil ne ma voulu
accorder, puis je lay suplie quil luy pleust faire tenir le jugement
secret, en sorte que nostre dit St. Pere nen peust estre adverty
que premierement ne eussiez parle ensemble. II ma dit estre
impossible de le pouvoir temr secret et quil faut quil soit pub-
liquement entendu et inesmes avant le coronation. . . . Sire
mondit Sieur de Norfort ne sy trouve moins empesche que moy
comme plus au long vous pourra compter jusque il vous voye."
P 2
212
ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vi. negotiations went on with Borne, Henry might, the
very moment he got tired of her, accept some com-
promise with the Holy See, such as the proposal
for the settlement of the dispute by a court at
Cambray. The award — with his secret consent-
would go against him, he would virtuously submit,
and Anne would be ignominiously discarded. If she
miscarried, this would almost inevitably be the result ;
it would probably be the result if her child proved to
be a girl. To such a danger she could not expose her-
self, and as her anti-clerical inclinations accorded with
her interest, she exercised all her energy to commit
Henry to an irrevocable step which would prevent
him from hereafter submitting once more to the
pope.
Cromwell energetically seconded her. He seems
to have had no sympathy with the ultra reformers,
but he was heartily sick of the vacillations which
had marked the policy of the last six years. He
wished England to be independent of France, to be
on good terms, if possible, with Charles V., but in
any case to pursue a definite course of her own. So
he helped Anne, and both together overcame any
resistance which the Duke of Norfolk and his
adherents dared to offer.
By this policy Anne, of course, offended the French ;
and it increased the hostility of those Englishmen
whose animosity had hitherto been kept within bounds
by the influence of Francis. The French party in
England, as well as the imperial, was now decidedly
hostile to Anne.
But even this was not the worst. Henry himself
A Vena-
tion of
the
French.
ANNE BOLEYN. 213
began to grow lukewarm. He had accomplished his CHAP. vi.
purpose ; he had shown the world that, pope and
emperor notwithstanding, he had been able to
have his own way. Anne, therefore, could no longer
play upon his vanity, one of the principal motives
by which she had hitherto ruled him. Moreover,
he had already become rather tired of her; and
thinking that in Anne's condition he was entitled
to look out elsewhere for amusement, he began
to flirt with the young ladies of her court. She
was alarmed by this incipient infidelity, and angrily
upbraided him for it ; but Henry, who would have
been cowed by her indignation a year ago, now
brutally replied that she ought to shut her eyes to
his pleasures, as others— he significantly added — her
betters had done before her. Anne flew into a
violent passion, and Henry threateningly bid her
remember that it was still in his power to lower
her as quickly as he had raised her. This made
her more furious than ever, and for several days
they did not speak to one another.1
Anne's chief hope lay in the fact that Henry firmly Attention
expected she would give birth to a boy, whom he
might proclaim Prince of Wales and appoint his
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 3, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 228, i. fol. 102 : " Remplie de jalousie et non sans
juste cause usa de quelque parolle au Roy dont il ne fust content
et luy dit quil falloit quelle serrat les yeulx et quelle endurast
aussi bien que avoint faict les autres que valloint mieulx quelle
et quelle debvoit savoir quil estoit en sa main de la rabaisser en
ung moment plus quil ne lavoit exalte ; a cause desquels propoz il
y a eu du groing et facons de faire de sorte que le Roy a este
deux ou trois jours sans parler a elle. . . ."
214 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vi. successor. As she was already far advanced in
pregnancy, it became necessary to take care of her
health ; and Henry, for the sake of the child,
notwithstanding occasional fits of ill-temper, showed
some attention and kindness to the mother. The
Easterlings having sailed away, the court returned
August to Greenwich, and here Anne's apartment was
28 1 'SS'}
fitted up in splendid style. A magnificent bed which
had been lying in the treasury, part of the ransom
of a French prince, was given to her, that the
king's child might be born in it.1 Everything which
might frighten or annoy Anne was kept from her ;
and when matters of state looked rather grave, Henry
rode out as if to hunt, and met his council at some
distance.2 The life and health of the future Prince of
Wales were not to be endangered.
Sad news There were certainly good reasons why Anne should
"cwicf ke Prevented from hearing the news which came
France, from France and Italy. When it was known in
Eome that the Statute of Appeals had passed into
May so, law, the pope was extremely angry. He complained
of having been deceived not only by Henry but by
Francis, since he had refrained from proceeding against
Henry in deference to the French king, who had
undertaken that his authority should be respected in
England.3 The French cardinals, being anxious that
the meeting should take place, tried to exculpate
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 3, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 228, i. fol. 102.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., July 30, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 228, i. fol. 91.
8 Bennet to Henry VIII., June 14, 1533, State Papers, vol. vii.
p. 469.
ANNE BOLEYN. 215
Francis, and were lavish of promises of all kinds. CHAP. vi.
They even went so far as to declare that Francis
would help to put down the German Lutherans by
force of arms. The German princes were not greatly
alarmed by this news ; for as long as Francis paid
them their subsidies, they cared little what his
cardinals said. But when Henry heard of it, he
was very differently impressed.1 Francis did not in
the least intend to coerce the German Lutherans,
but it was not improbable that he would attempt to
reconcile them to Home, and if he succeeded in doing
so, Henry would stand nearly alone in his rebellion
against the Holy See. Seeing in how difficult a
position he would thus be placed, Henry strongly
expostulated with Dinteville, insisting that such
promises would alienate the Germans and make the
pope more overbearing than ever. Dinteville tried
to calm him, but in vain ; Henry remained angry and
suspicious.2
Henry's anger was intensified when, a fortnight
later, he heard that Clement, although he had not
refused to meet Francis, had allowed the matrimonial
cause to go on. Henry's excusator having been re-
jected, Capisucchi, the auditor, proceeded with the
matter, and letters citatorial were served on Ghinucci,
as ambassador of the king of England, to appear at
the Rota.3 This was reported in England towards
1 Bennet to Henry VIII., May 28,1533, State Papers, vol. vii,
p. 463.
2 J. de Dinteville to J. du Bellay, June 9, 1533, Camnsat,
Meslanges, ii. fol. 130.
3 Paul Capisucchi to Ghinucci and Bennet, May 12, 1533, R.O.
Henry VIII. box i. No. 156.
216 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vi. the end of June, and seriously alarmed the king ; l
for the nation was in so irritable a mood that it
might rise against him if he were excommunicated
Henry and deprived by the pope. As it was impossible
to draw back, Henry resolved to act boldly ; and on
the 29t^ of June' before the Archbishop of York, he
1533. ' solemnly appealed from the pope to the next general
free council.2 This was an act strictly forbidden by
the rules of the Church. It would, indeed, have
been impossible to maintain ecclesiastical unity and
discipline, if it had been lawful for any individual,
at any moment, to set the power of the pope at
defiance by appealing to a council which might never
be held in the lifetime of the parties. Such an
appeal was rightly considered the first open advance
towards a schism ; and Henry was not quite pre-
pared to let it be publicly known at once that he
had taken so momentous a step. The appeal, there-
fore, was not sent to Rome immediately, but kept
as secret as possible, although Henry's precautions
did not prevent Chapuis from hearing of it a few
days later.3
Norfolk The unwonted vigour displayed by Henry against
France R°me was rendered possible by the absence of the
Duke of Norfolk, the chief of the conservative
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., July 11, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 228, i. fol. 88.
2 Appeal of Henry VIII., June 29, 1533, Kymer, Fcedera,
vol. xiv. p. 478. In presence of E. Archbishop of York, Ric.
Sampson, W. Fitzwilliam, Th. Cromwell, and Th. Argall and J.
Godsalve, notaries.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., July 11, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 228, i. fol. 88.
ANNE BOLEYN. 217
aristocratic party. The duke had been chosen to CHAP. vi.
represent Henry at the meeting between Clement
and Francis, and had left London on the day on May 29,
which his niece had gone from Greenwich to the
Tower. His colleagues in the embassy, Lord Koch-
ford, Sir Francis Bryan, Sir William Paulet and a
good many other gentlemen and doctors, had left
on the 27th of May. Norfolk had remained behind
to make a last attempt to win Chapuis over to the
cause of the divorce, but his efforts had failed.1 On
the 30th he reached Calais, and immediately started for
Amiens, where he was received by Frangois de Mont-
morency, the grand master's brother, by de Humieres,
and by other men of high standing.2 At Amiens he
stopped, and wrote to England for fresh instructions,
for he had heard that the meeting had been post-
poned. In reply, he was directed to proceed to Paris Julte 6>
and to the French court, and to dissuade Francis
from meeting the pope at all. If Francis persisted,
Norfolk was to accompany him, and to ask him not
to conclude anything with Clement before the affairs
of Henry should be satisfactorily arranged. Should
the duke find that the pope had adopted any decisive
measure against the king, he was to abstain from
direct negotiation with his holiness and to leave the
matter to Francis, who was to be reminded of his
alliance with Henry. Norfolk was also to urge
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., May 29, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 228, i. fol. 77.
2 Norfolk to Henry VIII., May 30, 1533, R.O. Henry VIII.,
Box I. No. 176; and A. de Montmorency to J. de Dinteville,
May 31, 1533, Qamusat, Meslanges, ii. fol. 127.
218 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vi. Francis to make some strong demonstration against
Henry's enemies.1
This was certainly an ungrateful task. It was
most unlikely that Norfolk would succeed, and the
negotiation would keep him out of England during
the whole summer. The scheme had clearly been
devised by Cromwell, who was already trying to
oust the duke from his position as prime minister,
and who wished for the next few months to rule
in the royal council. But however repugnant the
mission might be to Norfolk, he was obliged to
proceed. At Paris, where he went first, he saw the
Queen of Navarre, who, so far as opposition to Rome
was concerned, was in favour of an English alliance.
She received the duke very graciously, and warned
him of the secret hostility of Anne de Montmorency,
who at heart was an imperialist and had lately drawn
the dauphin over to his party. She spoke much and
well, and sent a friendly message to Anne ; but she
cleverly evaded all reference to the special object of
Norfolk's mission.2
Norfolk left Paris with the intention of joining the
French court. But Francis, who had been apprised
of his instructions, had no great wish to see him,
1 Henry VIII. to Norfolk, Rochford, Paulet, Browne, and
Bryan, June, 1533, State Papers, vol. vii. p. 473.
2 Marguerite de Navarre to J. de Dinteville, June 22, 1533,
Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 726, fol. 98 ; and Norfolk
to Henry VIII., from Paris, middle of June, 1533, Gairdner,
Letters and Papers, vol. vi. pp. 308 to 311. Mr. Gairdner places
this letter after the 23rd of June, which is clearly a mistake,
for on the 23rd of June Norfolk was already at Briare, fifty
miles south of Paris, on his way to Auvergne.
ANNE BOLEYN. 219
and the duke was not able to reach the court, which CHAP. vi.
was continually moving, till the 10th of July. The July 10,
court was then at Eiom, in Auvergne.1 He was
splendidly entertained by the Duke of Albany, and
was graciously received by Francis ; but he was
entirely unsuccessful in his mission. The meeting,
Francis said, must take place, and Norfolk ought to
assist at it. As, however, the French court was
to proceed through parts of Auvergne, Languedoc,
and Provence, which were rather out of the way,
Norfolk was requested to take the more commodious
road by Lyons and down the Ehone. Jean du Bellay
— who had lately been advanced to- the more opulent
see of Paris — Morette, Jean Joaquin, de la Hargerie,
and others well acquainted with England were ap-
pointed to accompany him.2 He took leave of
Francis at Albany's castle of Vic le Comte, and on July 21,
I K«5O
the 21st of July reached the suburbs of Lyons.?
At Lyons the authorities received him with great
honour, the governor going out to meet him. But
the ceremony was suddenly interupted by a courier,
who arrived from Home on his way to England.4
1 Sir W. Paulet to Cromwell, July 15, 1533, State Papers,
vol. vii. p. 481.
2 Francis I. to J. de Dinteville, July 15, 1533, Paris, Bibl. Nat.
MSS. Dupuis, vol. 547, fol. 250.
3 Sir Anthony Browne to Cromwell, July 24, 1533, R.O.
Henry VIII. Box I. P. No. 70.
4 Account written by Jean du Bellay to serve for the memoirs
of Martin du Bellay, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 33,
fol. 53 : " Ainsi quilz entroient dedans la ville les accompagnans
les gens dela dicte ville et gouverneur en grand honneur, voicy
un gentilhomme qui venoit de Rome en poste et extreme
diligence devers le Roy dangleterre qui vient dire a loreille du
220 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vi. Thinking that Norfolk was at the French court, the
English ambassadors with the pope had sent their
letters to him under cover to Anne de Montmo-
rency ; 1 but they had also given the courier a short
note, which he handed to the duke. Norfolk is said
by Jean du Bellay to have nearly fainted when he
read it. It contained but a few lines, to the effect
that sentence had been given against the king. The
duke hurriedly retired to the apartment prepared for
him, to take council with the bishop and with his
colleagues.2
The pope The news of Cranmer's proceedings at Dunstable
sentence and °^ ^ne sentence he had dared to deliver, had
against reached Eome on the last day of May.3 During the
May 31, preceding days, Gramont being very ill, Cardinal de
Tournon had in consistory proposed a plan which he
had wisely concealed from Bennet. The plan was
that when Francis and Clement met, the former should
ask the latter not to press the matter against Henry,
to which the pope was to reply that in so abominable
a case he could not but proceed, and that if the King
of England remained stubborn he must be condemned
Due de Norfoc quil sen alloyt signifier au roy dangleterre com-
ment sentence avoyt este donne centre luy par Pape Clement."
1 A. de Montmorency to J. du Bellay, July 22, 1533, Paris,
Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 265, fol. 232.
2 Account of Jean du Bellay, loc. cit. : " Et luy en bailie une
petite letre dont le pouvre due demeure si estonne que soub-
dainement cuyda deffaillir et ayant diet ceste nouvelle a levesque
de Paris apres estre le mieulx rasseure quil peult se retirat
secretement au logys et commencent a communiquer par ensemble
quel remede se pourroyt trouver. ..."
3 "W. Bennet to Henry VIII., June 13, 1533, State Papers,
vol. vii. p. 469.
ANNE BOLEYN, 221
and deprived. When this had been done, Francis CHAP. vi.
was to send a message to Henry that if he were
excommunicated it would be necessary, notwith-
standing all treaties, to abandon him, since by
standing by him Francis himself would incur the
censures of the Church. Tournon made no doubt
that Henry, so pressed, would cry for mercy, that
through the influence of Francis the cause would
then be heard at Cambray, and that Anne in the
meantime would be sent away and Catherine allowed
her rank, title, and place at court.1 This strange
proposal Clement communicated to Count Cyfuentes,
the Spanish ambassador. It was received by Cyfu-
entes with great suspicion ; but Clement was once
more so hopeful that he permitted the cause against
Henry to lag, and Bennet was able to write most
favourably of the goodwill of the pope.2
The news of Cranmer's sentence changed the whole
aspect of affairs. The pope, when he heard of this
usurpation of his authority, was terribly angry ; and
even those cardinals who had hitherto been most
friendly to Henry, owned that concession and for-
bearance made him only more insolent. For a time
the partisans of Catherine had it all their own
way. Tournon abandoned his former position,3 and
the Italian cardinals were indignant at the re-
bellion of Henry and Cranmer. But by far the most
1 Count Cyfuentes to Charles V., May 29, 1533, British
Museum, Add. MSS. 28,585, fol. 260.
2 Bennet to Henry VIII., May 28, 1533, State Papers, vol. vii.
p. 462.
3 Dr. Ortiz to Charles V., September 9, 1533, British Museum,
Add. MSS. 28,586, fol. 1.
222 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vi. dangerous enemy of the king of England was the
pope himself, who had been deeply hurt at the
manner in which he had been duped and insulted.
June 14, On the 14th of June, when the Cardinal of Jaen
saw the pope, Clement declared that Henry merited
every pain and penalty, and that the proceedings
against him were to be carried on without delay.1
During the following days, while the congregation
sat to consult about new briefs against Henry,
Clement tried to stir up as many enemies as possible
against the king and felt his ground with the French
and the imperial agents.
About a fortnight later, Clement proposed to
Cyfuentes that Francis should be incited to take
part against Henry by a promise of the town of
Calais, and that the emperor and the King of France
should jointly make war to execute the papal cen-
sures. The count, rather startled, merely replied that
it was a very grave matter. Clement, discouraged
by this answer, then asked whether Mary might not
marry the Duke of Norfolk's son, and thus gain many
adherents and overthrow her father. True, the Earl
of Surrey had a wife living, but, said Clement, that
did not matter much, as he had been forced to marry
her, and it had been done only per verba de future.
Cyfuentes did not like this plan any better than the
other, and urged the pope to have the cause decided
as soon as possible.2
1 Cardinal de Jaen to Charles V., June 14, 1533, British
Museum, Add. MSS. 28,585, fol. 270.
2 Cyfuentes to Charles V., July 5, 1533, British Museum,
Add. MSS. 28,585, fol. 309.
ANNE BOLEYN. 223
There was no necessity to press Clement to proceed, CHAP. vi.
for he was now as eager as could be desired. Several
congregations and consistories were held ; and on July n,
the llth of July, having taken the advice of the
cardinals, the pope delivered publicly, in open con-
sistory, a sentence annulling the proceedings of
Cranmer, declaring that Henry, Anne, and the arch-
bishop had incurred the penalties threatened in the
former inhibitory briefs, and requiring them, on pain
of excommunication, to undo within six weeks all
that had been done.1
But even more had been accomplished for Catherine,
although as yet it remained a secret. In one of the
consistories the question had been raised whether the
pope had power to dispense for a marriage with a
deceased brother's widow, and the cardinals had de-
cided in the affirmative.2 As all Henry's arguments
rested on the denial of this position, his agents could
hereafter obtain only delay ; judgment could not go
in his favour.
Norfolk knew that when Henry heard of these
proceedings, so far as they had been made public,
his vanity would once more be brought into play,
and that, under the influence of those who wished
for a separation from Rome, he would attack the
1 Sententia diffinitiva, Y Idus Julii, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 228, ii. fol. 102 ; Pocock, Records, Appendix, No. xxxiv. ;
and Secretary Ferrarys to July 15, 1533, Paris, Bibl. Nat.
MSS. Dupuis, vol. 462, fol. 48.
— to Catherine of Aragon, British Museum, Cotton MSS.
Vitellius, B. xiv. fol. 50; Gairdner, Letters and Papers, vol.
vi. p. 473 ; and Dr. Ortiz to Charles Y. March 4, 1534, British
Museum, Add. MSS. 28,586, fol. 148.
224 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vi. papal authority still more bitterly and render every
compromise impossible. This the duke wished to
prevent, so that his first idea was to return straight-
Juiy 21, way to England, where he hoped by his presence to
counteract the measures of the radical party. But
Jean du Bellay assured the duke and his colleagues
that the sentence just given was not definitive, and
that at the coming interview everything might still
be settled to the satisfaction of their master. He
therefore urged them to remain, and to proceed to
the place of meeting. Norfolk answered that after
the pope had given sentence against his king it
would not be proper for him to assist at the con-
ference, and that if he committed so great a mistake
he might lose his head for it. After an animated
discussion they arrived at a compromise. The bishop,
in the name of Francis, entered a formal protest
against the departure of Norfolk from France contrary
to the agreement between the two kings ; and Norfolk,
being thus provided with an excuse for remaining,1
1 Account of Jean du Bellay, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis,
vol. 33, fol. 52 : " Us disoient que apres que leur maistre avoyt
receu une telle honte que destre condemne par le pape et declare
excommunie il ne seroyt honneste queulx se trouvassent avec le
Roy comme supply ans vers le diet pape et disoient que silz avoyent
faict une telle faulte leur vie seroit envers luy en tres grand
dangler et de faict neust este lasseurance que leur bailloyt
levesque de Paris que ceste sentence quil presupposoyt avoir este
donnee par contumace se pourroyt reparer par lordre de droict a
ceste entrevue et une facon de protester quil feist a lencontre
deulx au nom du roy silz sen alloyent si soubdainement (desquelles
protestes ilz se pouroyent couvrir envers leur maitre) ils rom-
poyent des Iheure toute pratique de paction et sen retournoyent
soubdenement en Angleterre."
ANNE BOLEYN. 225
consented to abide for the present at Lyons. He CHAP. vi.
sent Lord Kochford, Anne's brother, to England to
ask for further instructions, while he despatched Sir
Francis Bryan, Anne's cousin, to Francis to complain
of the injury done to his master.1
Lord Rochford made good speed. He rode post to The
Calais, crossed at once, and on the 28th was already sentence
at court.2 The news he brought filled Henry with made
-IT 111 T-I • Known to
indignation and dismay, all the more because Jbrancis Henry.
seemed determined not to resent what the pope had ^3 '
done. Henry — guided, no doubt, by Cromwell —
decided to strike out an independent line of policy.
Norfolk was to go to Francis to try once more to
dissuade him from meeting the pope, and if his
representations proved unavailing he was to return to
England.3 And that the loss of the firm and close
1 Account of Jean du Bellay, loc. cit. : " Levesque de Paris
qui suyvant et sachant lintention de son maistre estre pour le
bien de la chrestienete que la chose si bien commencee se con-
tinuast feist tant envers le diet due et aultres deputez quapres
plusieurs disputes ilz se contenterent que pour suyvre leur pre-
miere opinion qui estoit daller en poste prendre congie du Roy
pour retourner devers leur maistre le frere de la Royne seulement
y iroyt en poste et extreme diligence pour scavoir ce quil luy
plairoyt quilz f eissent et Bryant iroyt vers le Roy pour ladvertir
aussy de ce qui leur estoyt survenu et se plaindre de loutraige
du pape."
2 E. Chapuis to Charles Y., July 30, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 221, i. fol. 91.
3 Account of Jean du Bellay, loc. cit. : " Par la fin retourna
le frere de la Royne avec les plus grandes querimonies du monde
voulant, sil eust peu, tirer le Roy de son coste centre le pape
monstrant que luy avoyt rompu sa foy et promesse, desprise le
Roy, etc. ;" and Francis I. to J. de Dinteville, August 27, 1533,
Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 33, fol. 137.
VOL. I. Q
226 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vi. friendship of the French king might be balanced by
other alliances, Stephen Vaughan, a client and friend
New of Thomas Cromwell, was despatched, on the day of
Kochford's arrival, to Germany to negotiate an alliance
with the Elector of Saxony, the Landgrave of Hesse,
the Duke of Brunswick Lueneburg, and the other
princes of the Schmalkaldic league.1 Another agent,
Cristopher Mundt, a German, was sent to the dukes
of Bavaria who, although Catholics, were intensely
hostile to the Austrian power.2
The intelligence brought by Kochford was kept
strictly secret. The council at which it was dis-
cussed was held at some distance from court, that
Anne might not hear of it, and it is probable that
she was not even apprised of her brother's arrival.
July 30, He remained two days in England, and on the 30th
left again for France, travelling at a less furious pace.3
He found his uncle still at Lyons, whence Norfolk,
having read his new instructions, set out for Mont-
pellier to meet Francis. Here he had a long
August, interview with the king, who continued to preach
33< moderation, and protested that if Norfolk could have
remained, a good result might still have been hoped
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., July 30, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 228, i. fol. 91.
2 Yaughan to Cromwell, August 3, 1533, State Papers, vii.
p. 489 ; and Yaughan and Mundt to Henry VIII., August 27,
1533, State Papers, vii. p. 501.
3 Chapuis to Charles V., July 30, 1533, Vienna Archives, P.C.
228, i. fol. 91 : "Ann que la dame ne sen pust appercevoir pour
non dommaiger ce quelle pourte et pour mieulx couvrir le cas
sous umbre daller a la chasse le Roy est party de Windezore ou
il la laissee et est alle a Guillefort ou il a appelle outre ceulx de
son conseil plusieurs docteurs. ..."
ANNE BOLEYN. 227
for at the meeting. He asked that at least another CHAP. vi.
ambassador with full powers should be sent in the
duke's place. Norfolk, convinced by the arguments
of Francis, promised to do his best to calm his
master and to obtain what the French king desired ; *
and that he might be the better able to do so, he
took post horses and rode from Montpellier to Calais.2 30, 1533.
On the 30th he was in England.3
In consequence of Norfolk's representations, the Gardiner
Bishop of Winchester was appointed to take his French
place at the French court, and left on the 3rd of Sep- „ cour\
r September
tember. As Gardiner, next to Norfolk, was the 3, 1533.
chief rival of Cromwell, the latter was not sorry to
get rid of him for a time. With Cranmer, Audeley,
and Wiltshire at his back, Cromwell expected to be
more than a match for the duke alone. He knew
that nothing could be effected by Gardiner, who did
not receive those full powers Francis had asked for,
but only vague and general instructions.4 Moreover,
after Eochford had left on the 30th of July, the radical
party had not been idle, and although Henry had
already recalled his ambassadors at Rome, he sent to
one of them, Dr. Bonner, a copy of his appeal to 18,^1533.
the council, with orders, if Bonner should think fit,
1 Francis I. to the Bailly de Troyes, August 27, 1533, Paris,
Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 547, fol. 137.
2 Chronicle of Calais, p. 44; and Norfolk to Lord Lisle,
August 28, 1533, Gairdner, Letters and Papers, vol. vi. p. 442.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 3, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 228, i. fol. 102.
4 Account of Jean du Bellay, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis,
vol. 33, fol. 54 ; and Instructions to Jean du Bellay, Paris, Bibl.
Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 121, fol. 35.
Q 2
228 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vi. to intimate the same to Clement.1 Bonner was an
essentially coarse and violent man, who delighted in
showing rudeness to the pope ; and Cromwell was
pretty sure that if he found an opportunity he would
not refrain from thinking fit to intimate the appeal.
This, as Cromwell knew, would put an end to all
hopes of a compromise.
1 Henry VIII. to Bonner, August 18, 1533, Pocock, Records,
Appendix, No. xxxv.
CHAPTEE VII.
MARCUS MEYER.
DURING this time Anne's confinement had drawn Loyal
near, and the king was in the very best of humours.
He had consulted numerous physicians, astrologers,
wizards and witches, and, as everybody knew what
he wanted, they had, as right loyal sorcerers, unani-
mously replied that the child would be a boy —
the Prince of Wales whom Henry craved for with
such eagerness.1
The Duke of Suffolk had been a widower for full Marriage
ten weeks ; his wife, the king's sister, having died on p^ e0j.
the 24th of June. He could bear his bereaved state Suffolk.
no longer, and on the morning of Sunday, the 7th of 7, 1533.
September, he married Catherine Willoughby, only
daughter and heiress of the late Lord Willoughby.
On the death of her father. Catherine had become a
royal ward, and Suffolk had paid his brother-in-law
a thousand pounds for permission to marry her to
his son, young Henry Brandon, Earl of Lincoln.2
Henry Brandon and Catherine had been formally
1 E. Chapuis to Charles Y., September 3 and 10, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 228, i. fols. 102 and 105.
2 Debts of the French Queen and the Duke of Suffolk, RO.
and Gairdner, Letters and Papers, vol. vii. p. 613.
230 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vii. betrothed, but when Suffolk became a widower lie
caused the betrothal to be annulled, and took his
son's place.1
Birth of This Sunday was to be a busy day at court, for a
Elizabeth. £ew nours after Suffolk's marriage, between three and
four in the afternoon, Anne's child was born. Doctors
and midwives made haste to receive the young Prince
of Wales ; but their faces grew long, and they slunk
away crestfallen. The child was a girl.2
Henrys Henry was exceedingly vexed by what he considered
a mischance and a humiliation. All the hopes he
had so foolishly paraded before the world had come
to nought ; the wish of the children at Gracechurch
had been too literally fulfilled. And what made
the king's mortification all the greater was that he
perfectly understood the exultation of his enemies.
He could neither forbid nor resent the demonstra-
tions of joy which were made all around him ; but
he knew that the bonfires which blazed in the streets,
and the shouts with which the city rang, were in-
tended to celebrate, not the fact that Anne had borne
him a child, but the fact that the child was but a
girl.
And the fact was not only vexatious and wounding
to Henry's vanity, it had a real political significance.
Englishmen were not accustomed to be ruled by
women, and had Anne's child been a boy, some part
of the opposition against the king's marriage might
have been overcome. Many an Englishman might
have abandoned the cause of Mary for that of a
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 3, 1533, loc. cit.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 10, 1533, loc. cit.
ANNE BOLEYN. 231
Prince of Wales, but between two girls the choice CHAP. vn.
was not difficult : the nation stood by Mary.
Chapuis, of course, was delighted at the disap-
pointment of Henry, and plotted all the more eagerly
against Anne. There had been some differences
between Cromwell and her ; the former having wished
that in Cranmer's sentence of divorce Mary should
be admitted to be legitimate, as born in bond fide
parentum.1 This would have allayed much of the
secret resistance offered by Mary's friends, and would
have facilitated a good understanding with the em-
peror. For very obvious reasons Anne had opposed
the idea, and she had carried the day. Something
of this seems to have transpired, and Chapuis tried
to make out how matters stood, and, if possible, to
gain the secretary over. In July he had a long Chapuis
and
conversation with Cromwell, exhorting him to be a Cromwell.
July,
1533.
friend of Charles. As long as the late cardinal had July>
associated himself with the emperor, all had gone
well with him ; as soon as he abandoned the imperial
party, he was ruined. Let Cromwell take warning
from Wolsey's fate. No friendship, Chapuis signifi-
cantly concluded, could be more advantageous to
England generally, and to Cromwell especially, than
that of Charles. To all this the secretary listened
most attentively, thanking Chapuis for the interest
he took in him. "He is a man of sense/' the
1 Memorandum on the back of a letter of John Mille to
Cromwell, April 25, 1533, R.O. Cromwell Correspondence, vol.
xxviii. fol. 74 : " Item touching in the judgment that the great
personage might be brought in to be notyd in bona fide
parentum."
232 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vii. ambassador wrote, " who knows business and under-
stands reason."1
September Six weeks later, it was Cromwell who tried to
speak in private with Chapuis. A few days after
Elizabeth's birth the secretary was flying his hawks
in the fields, and Chapuis rode out by appointment to
meet him. This time the ambassador thought that he
might express himself more openly. He said that now
the king had married Anne it might be easier to redress
matters than it had been before, for Henry, having
shown that he was able to do as he liked, might take
Catherine back without losing any of his reputation
for independence ; and Cromwell ought to support so
good an arrangement. The secretary listened very
patiently, but replied that the time had not yet come,
as the king's love for Anne was still strong and
ardent. The friendship of Charles was certainly all
important to England, for it would be easy for him
to ruin the kingdom ; but Cromwell hoped Charles
would not try — the emperor would certainly not
benefit by such an enterprise. As to himself, Crom-
well said, he was quite ready to abandon Anne and
to act for Catherine, but things of this kind could
not be done in a hurry. Chapuis left him with
the conviction that he was only waiting for an
opportunity to change his whole policy.2
It seemed probable that the opportunity would
soon present itself. Shortly after his last conference
1 Chapuis to Charles Y., July 30, 1533, Vienna Archives, P.O.
228, i. fol. 91.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 27, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 228, i. fol. Ill : " Actendu que les choses sont
trop fresches et lamour du Roy tropt vehement et ardent."
ANNE BOLEYN. 233
with Cromwell, Chapuis received strong hints that the CHAP. vn.
ill-will against Anne was having serious consequences. Symptoms
Among the ladies of her household there was a fair re^ttwn.
damsel called Elizabeth Holland, for whom the Duke of
Norfolk had shown his preference in rather too public
a way. The duchess, a very haughty and violent
woman, had taken this very ill, and on Norfolk's
return from France had absolutely refused to see
him. The quarrel, which reflected some discredit on
Anne, was very disagreeable to the court ; and it
was decided that Lord Abergavenny, the duchess's
brother-in-law, should be sent to her to effect a
reconciliation. He was accordingly invited to Green-
wich to receive instructions.1 Here he met Chapuis September
at mass, and they returned arm in arm from the ' *
chapel to the hall, the king walking immediately
behind them, and Cromwell in front. Abergavenny
seized the opportunity to tell the ambassador hurriedly
that he should have liked to confer with him, but
dared not do so. He could only say that he was a
warm friend of the emperor; and to intimate the
strength of his feelings, he pressed the ambassador's
arm.2 This was the first hint Chapuis received of
a vast conspiracy which was being formed.
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 27, 1533, loc. cit. : " Je
cuydois Sire quil eust este appelle en court pour quelque affaire
dimportance mais ce nestoit que pour une folie a scavoir lenvoyer
vers la Ducesse de Norphoc quest sueur de sa femme pour faire
lappoinctement entre elle et le due son mari lequel elle ne vouloit
veoer ne ouyr a cause quil est amoureux dune demoyselle de la
concubine du Roy que sappelle Hollande. ..."
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 27, 1533, loc. cit. : "II
(Abergavenny) eust charge dernierement que f uz en court de me
234 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vii. A few days later, a more precise message was sent
to Chapuis by the Bishop of Rochester, who had
been released after a confinement of two months, and
had returned to his diocese more incensed than ever
against Henry and Anne. The pope's censures, he
now told Chapuis, were against the obstinate like a
leaden sword; they produced no effect. Charles
ought, therefore, to take matters into his own hands,
whereby he would do God as great a pleasure as in
fighting the Turks.1 Another malcontent suggested
to Chapuis that Reginald Pole, who resided at Padua,
and whose family were powerful, rich and discon-
tented, might marry the princess and claim the
crown, to which he had some pretensions by right of
birth. In any case the emperor would do well to
make sure of him.2
ramener de la messe et lors me dit quil eust eu bien desir de
deviser avec moy mais quy ny avoit ordre et seullement me
signiffioit que ny avoit gentilhomme au monde que de meilleur
cueur feist service a Yostre Maieste que luy et que pourroit estre
que Vostre Maieste sen appercevroit quelque jour. Et pour ce que
le Roy poursuidoit tout de pres et Cremuel qui nous precedoit et
nous alloit tenant les oreilles ny eust ordre de plus long practique ;
touteffois Sire laffection quil monstroit avoir de me declairer son
intencion linduisoyt de cop sur cop me fere feste et me sarrant le
braz par soubz lequel il me mesnoit."
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 27, 1533, loc. cit. : " Que
les armes du pape pour ceulx cy que sont obstinez sont plus fresles
que de plomb et quil convient que Vostre Maieste y mecte la
main et que en ce elle fera ceuvre tant aggreable a dieu (que)
daller centre le turcq."
2 E. Chapuis to Charles Y., September 27, 1533, loc. cit. : " Le
diet filz est maintenant a Padue a lestude pour la grande et
singuliere vertu duquel joinct quil est du parentaige du Roy du
couste du pere et de mere et pour la pretension que luy et ses
ANNE BOLEYN. 235
All this seemed very threatening for Anne ; and CHAP. vn.
it was the more dangerous, as she had some reason
to complain of the conduct of the French. Francis
was in a singular position. For his designs on the
Low Countries he wanted Henry to be on bad terms
with Charles, and to be the ally of France ; and
to secure this end he had favoured the divorce and
the marriage with Anne. But for his designs on
Italy, which he had much more at heart, he needed
the friendship of the pope ; and in order to please
the pope he urged Henry to go no further, and
disapproved of all steps tending towards schism.
This was neither the real interest of Anne, nor did it
suit her character and inclinations. During the
prolonged strife she had contracted a strong feeling ;^t
of hatred against the Holy See and the Eoman priest- Church of
hood. She desired a complete rupture, and supported
every scheme likely to bring it about. " The cause
and the principal wet-nurse of heresy," Chapuis in
his quaint language styled her, and he was not much
mistaken.1
Although Anne had not an important ally whom Elizabeth.
she could trust, she had still something in her favour.
If her child was but a girl, it had a wonderful quality
freres pourroient avoir au royaulme la Royne desireroit austant
colloque la princesse sa fille par mariaige qua autre quelle sache.
A quoy la dicte princesse ne feroit reffuz ains sen tiendroit plus
que contente." I have quoted so largely from this letter of
Chapuis because the quotations in M. de Gayangos' Calendar
are not quite correct.
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., April 1, 1536, Yienna Archives,
P.C. 230, i. fol. 50 : " Pour remedier aux heresies dyci dont la
concubyne est la cause et principale nourisse."
236 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vii. for a child of Henry VIII. : it lived and throve, and
gave rise to a hope that it might have brothers who
September WOuld do the same. On the 10th of September it
10 1533
was christened.1 Dinteville, who, notwithstanding
Norfolk's request, had received no orders to be proxy
for Francis, was spared the trouble by the sex of
the child.2 The dowager Duchess of Norfolk and
the Dowager Marchioness of Dorset were ordered to
stand godmothers, while Cranmer was godfather.
After this the child remained for nearly three months
at court until a separate establishment was provided
for it, and it was taken to Hatfield.3
Success of With this little in her favour, Anne had to allay
the king's annoyance, to raise his courage, and to
revive his hopes. Once more she succeeded, once
more the hopes of Chapuis came to nought. Crom-
well was right : the time had not yet come. She
was still able to profit by all the little incidents
of the summer and the autumn, and to reconstruct
her power. And it happened that her task was
lightened by two events which had not been foreseen.
One of these events cannot be properly understood
without reference to the circumstances of the time
Luebeck in the north-west of Europe. The city of Luebeck,
chief among the Hanseatic towns, chief too of
1 Account of the christening, Gairdner, Letters and Papers,
vol. vi. p. 464.
2 J. de Dinteville to Francis I., October 5, 1533, Paris, Bibl.
Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 547, fol. 269.
3 Minutes for the council and acta in consilio, December 2?
1533, State Papers, vol. i. pp. 414 and 415; and E. Chapuis to
Charles V., December 9 and 16, 1533, Vienna Archives, P.C.
228, i. fols. 140 and 143.
ANNE BOLEYN. 237
the group of them called the Wendic towns, had CHAP. vn.
obtained during the fourteenth century an almost
undisputed supremacy on the Baltic. The Scandina-
vian kingdoms had been so thoroughly humbled by
its fleets and armies that they had submitted to the
terms the mighty burghers had chosen to dictate ;
and the Danes, by the treaty of Nystadt, had even
conceded to Luebeck the right of vetoing the election
of their kings. But Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes
cannot easily bear a foreign yoke, and at the end
of the fourteenth century the three northern nations
united and called Eric of Pomerania, himself a
German, but no friend of Luebeck, to the throne.
A long series of struggles then began between the
town and the union-kings, and Luebeck slowly lost
ground. When, in the middle of the fifteenth
century, Christian, of the house of Oldenburg, as-
cended the Scandinavian throne, the position of the
town was such that it could not exercise its old
privileges. Luebeck was deserted by its allies, Luebeck
and the lesser towns began to look after their supremacy.
own interests, and to oppose the wishes and plans of
the chief city. It had been a rule that certain
classes of goods should not be imported directly
to the Scandinavian ports, but should first be brought
to the staple of Luebeck ; but this rule was now
disregarded. The Dutch towns, which had formerly
been among the chief friends of Luebeck, became its
most formidable opponents and rivals. They de-
clined to submit to restrictions on their trade, and
sent their ships to any port in the Baltic they chose ;
and when the Luebeckers tried to prevent them, they
238 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vii. allied themselves with the union-king, who in re-
turn granted them extensive privileges in direct
violation of Luebeck' s treaty rights.
When Christian succeeded to the throne of the
duchies of Sleswick and Holstein, and became the
close neighbour of Luebeck, its difficulties were very
much increased. After Christian's death, however,
his territories were again divided, his elder son John
inheriting the three kingdoms, Frederic, the younger
son, the two duchies. John took no decisive steps
against Luebeck, and there was a period of calm until
his son Christian II. succeeded him. Christian, who
had married a sister of Charles V., followed a more
active policy ; but, while he energetically withstood
foreign oppression, he was himself a tyrant at home,
and an(l alienated the goodwill of his subjects. A re-
kei}ion broke out in Sweden, and Gustavus Vasa,
Denmark with the assistance of the Luebeckers, drove Christian
1522.' out of the country. The two other kingdoms of
Christian also rebelled, and Frederic of Hoi stein
became their king. Christian had to fly from court to
court, asking everywhere to be assisted against his
rebellious subjects and his treacherous kinsman.
During the early years of their reign, both
Gustavus Vasa and Frederic of Denmark were
friendly to Luebeck, whose help they needed.
For Christian had still a party in the country,
and was always trying to regain his throne. In
1531, with the aid of the Dutch cities, he fitted
October ou^ a ^ee^ » an(^ taking some landsknechts on board,
24,1531. he sailed from Holland to Norway. At first he
met with success, but a Luebeck fleet which suddenly
ANNE BOLEYN. 239
appeared on the coast cut off all further reinforce- CHAP. vn.
ments, victualled Frederic's strongholds, and trans- July i,
ported his troops. Christian was then forced to
capitulate, and Frederic treacherously seized him, and
threw him into a dungeon at Grottorp.
Having obtained so decisive a victory, and having
no longer anything to fear from his foe, Frederic
grew cold towards those who had aided him in the
hour of his need. He did, indeed, threaten the Dutch,
and demand an indemnity for the assistance they
had given to his rival ; but he soon granted them
terms which were most disagreeable to the Lue-
beckers. The latter were left to fight their quarrel
out as best they could, Frederic putting himself to
little trouble on their behalf.
Had the old constitution still been in force at
Luebeck, the city might have kept quiet. But the
narrow oligarchy of conservative patricians had
lately been overthrown. A violently reforming
democracy had taken its place, and Juergen Wullen- 1533.'
wever, its chief spokesman, had been elected burgo-
master. As a true demagogue, Wullenwever was
bent on a spirited foreign policy, and under his rule
a fleet was fitted out to compel the Dutch to admit
the privileges of Luebeck and to pay a fine for having
aided Christian. In 1533 this fleet cruised along the ^
coast of Holland, and spread terror among the sea- squadron
faring people. In August a detachment of it, con- Englilk
sisting of five line-of-battle ships, mounted by 2,200 Channel.
men, sailed towards the English Channel,1 and at the
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., August 23, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 228, i. fol. 98. '
240 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vii. Nore captured three vessels, one Flemish and two
Spanish. Thence they proceeded to Dover, where
they were allowed to victual, and finally they went
to the Eye to lie in wait for fourteen Dutch hulks
which were expected from Spain.1
Chapuis, hearing of their depredations, strongly
protested against the favour shown to them ; and as
the Hanseatic traders had offended the court, the
council were quite ready to promise that no further
help should be given to the strangers. Orders to
that effect were sent down to the coast, and when on
August the 18th of August the Luebeck captain, Marcus
•to -I COO
Meyer, landed to confer with the mayor of Eye, he
was arrested on a charge of piracy.2 The Luebeck
ships, deprived of their leader, exposed to the cannon
of the town and of the Dutch hulks, which had
gained the harbour, dared not use force. They
stood out to sea, and left the Channel.3
Marcus Marcus Meyer was brought to London, and Henry,
Meyer. rememkering the insults offered by the Easterlings
to Anne Boleyn, wanted to punish him and to make
the Hanseatic merchants responsible for the damage
done by his ships.4 But the aldermen of the Steel-
yard protested that they had no connection with
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 3, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 228, i. fol. 102.
2 Reimer Kock's Chronicle of Luebeck ; and E. Chapuis to
Charles V., September 3, 1533, loc. cit.
8 Sir Edward Guldeford to Cromwell, August 21 and 22, 1533,
Gairdner, Letters and Papers, vol. vi. p. 433 ; G. Waitz,
Luebeck unter Juergen Wullenwever ; and Wurm, Die politischen
Beziehungen Heinrich VIII. zu Marcus Meyer.
4 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 3, 1533, loc. cit.
ANNE BOLEYN. 241
Meyer, and this they were quite able to prove. CHAP. vn.
By and by, when the captain was closely exam-
ined by the royal council, he brought out certain
facts which altogether changed Henry's intentions
regarding him.
Marcus Meyer was one of a class of men who
abounded in Germany in the sixteenth century —
adventurers of talent and ambition, who delighted in
daring enterprises and hairbreadth escapes. They
were not without generous aims, but, leading a hard
and checkered life, they could not afford to be very
scrupulous, and were generally ready to enter into part-
nership with any one, however dishonest, who could
help them to attain their ends. Meyer had originally
been a blacksmith in Hamburg, but had enlisted as a
soldier ; and after having been tossed about a good deal,
he had entered the service of Frederic of Denmark.
In 1531 he passed with the rank of ensign to the
Luebeckers, in whose service he rose to be a captain ;
and being an adherent of Wullenwever, he was ap-
pointed to the command of the soldiers on the
squadron which ultimately made for the English
Channel.
Meyer was not only a stout soldier, but a clever
intriguer ; and when examined, he expressed astonish-
ment that he had been arrested for despoiling some
of the king's bitterest enemies. He had thought
Henry would be rather pleased by what he had done,
but as it was otherwise, he promised that if he were
set free the ships and merchandise should be restored.1
At the same time he proclaimed the good intentions
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 3, 1533, loc. cit.
VOL. I. R
242 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vii. of the Luebeckers — enemies of the pope and of the
pretensions of Kome. He explained how matters
stood in the north, and how advantageous it would
be for Henry to conclude an alliance with Luebeck.
Northern J
confederacy Frederic of Denmark had just died, and a successor
eyer. was about to be chosen. If a friend of Henry were
elected, a confederacy might be formed between
England, Denmark, and Luebeck strong enough to
withstand any enemy. Meyer declared that the king
ought not to miss so good an opportunity, and he
offered to do his best to promote Henry's interests
in the matter. Perhaps he even hinted at the pos-
sibility of Henry himself being elected, and thus
uniting the whole north-west under his sceptre.1
The There was much that was absurd in this plan, but
fascinates ^^ an(^ fantastic combinations had an irresistible
Henry, attraction for Henry, and he listened with pleasure
to Meyer's glowing speeches. The captain was set
free and received permission to go back to Luebeck,
giving security for his return to England in Novem-
ber. He may not have taken advantage of this
permission, as the way to Luebeck was rather dan-
gerous for him ; but an English secretary was sent
thither, nominally to urge the restitution of the two
Spanish ships, in reality to inform himself about
the true state of the case.2
The hopes of an important alliance against Charles
and the Holy See restored some firmness to Henry's
mind. He was no longer so afraid of losing the
1 "Wurm, Die politischen Beziehungen ; "Waitz, Wullenwever, etc.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., September 15 and December 9,
1533, Vienna Archives, P.O. 228, i. fols. 107 and 140.
ANNE BOLEYN. 243
friendship of France ; he dared once more to pursue CHAP. vn.
a vigorous and decided policy. In this course he was
encouraged by the activity of Anne and her nearest
friends, who were able to frighten the king with tales
about a clerical conspiracy, and to rouse his anger by
the account they gave of what the malcontents said.
Early in July a lay friar of Greenwich, Brother Brother
Laurence, who had acted for some time as a spy?
went to talk to Cromwell about two friars observant tiT01]s-
July
whom he had been watching. They professed to 1533.
have come to England for the purpose of collecting
books for Friar Peto, who had fled to Flanders and
had been writing against the divorce ; but Laurence
was able to state that they had visited Catherine at
JBugden. This was immediately reported to the king,
and Cromwell asked to be allowed to take any steps
that might appear to him to be necessary.1 The
friars, notwithstanding their caution, were then ar-
rested, having been dogged from Ware to London.
No papers were found on them, but as they seemed
unfavourable to the new state of things, and probably
knew many of the secrets of their order, Cromwell
applied for leave to have them racked.2
In his interview with Cromwell, Laurence had The holy
expressed a wish to make some revelations to the mxen°
king regarding the holy maid of Kent, a nun named
Elizabeth Barton, who was at this time much talked
about. She had been for years subject to fits and
1 Cromwell to Henry VIII. (not dated), RO. Henry VIII.,
Box Q, No. 147.
2 Cromwell to Henry VIII., July 23, 1533, RO. Henry VIIL,
Box P, No. 361.
R 2
244 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. YII. hallucinations, and had spoken of her visions to a
great many people who had been deeply impressed by
them. She was very hostile to the divorce, and her
prophecies were by no means favourable to Henry
and Anne. The king decided that the matter should
be investigated by Cranmer, who was staying at
Canterbury ; l and Cromwell sent the archbishop a
list of. questions he was to put to her, relating es-
pecially to predictions she was said to have uttered
as to the death of the king and the queen. Cran-
mer had been in communication with her before
he received these orders, and with his consummate
talent for dissembling he had had no difficulty in
making her suppose that he believed in her. He
was very unwilling to act as Cromwell directed,
because the questions, he thought, might put her on
her guard ; but being obliged to obey, he proceeded,
August with Dr. Gwent, the new dean of arches, to execute
his commission. The maid asked permission to speak
privately with the archbishop, and when this was
granted, she said she had been told in her trance
that the next time she would know how Henry and
Anne would end. " And therefore " Gwent wrote " she
desired to go to Curtopstrete, and there this week she
shall have another trance, and then she shall know per-
fectly. And my lord has given her leave to go thither
and to repaire to him again, trusting that then he shall
plainly perceive her foolish dissimulation. And if
your interrogatory had not been, she would have con-
fessed more things, for my lord does yet but dally with
1 Cromwell to Henry VIII., July 23, 1533, E.G. Henry VIII.,
Box P, No. 361.
ANNE BOLEYN. 245
her as (if) he did believe her every word, and as soon CHAP, vn,
as he has all he can get out of her she shall be sent to
you." x
It seems that Cranmer was successful in his endea-
vour to lead the unsuspecting nun into a trap. She
was arrested and sent to London, and shortly after- September
wards several monks, parsons, and gentlemen shared
her fate. Their papers were seized, they were sub-
mitted to a strict examination by Cromwell and his
agents ; and every device was employed to obtain
from them a full confession of all the nun had said
and a list of the persons who had seemed to attribute
importance to her statements.2 When the list was
made out, it proved to be a very formidable one. October
It contained the names of Sir Thomas More, the
Bishop of Kochester, the Marchioness of Exeter, the
Countesses of Salisbury and Derby, Lord and Lady
Hussey, and many others of less note.3 It was pre-
tended that the princess dowager and her daughter
had communicated with Barton ; 4 but this was
contradicted by Catherine herself, and Cromwell
subsequently owned that nothing had been found
1 B. Gwent to Cromwell, August 11, 1533, E.G. Cromwell
Correspondence, vol. xv. No. 70.
2 Examination of Elizabeth Barton, E.G. Henry VIII.,
Box Q, No. 141 ; Examination of John Mores, E.G. Henry VIII.,
Box Q, No. 154 ; Examination of of Syon, E.G. Henry VIII.,
Box Q, No. 127; and Sir Christofer Hales to Cromwell, Sep-
tember 24 and 25, 1533, E.G. Cromwell Correspondence, vol. xvi.
Nos. 33 and 38.
3 List of names, E.G. Henry VIII., Box Q, Nos. 148 to 150.
4 Ibid. ; and Account of J. de Dinteville, Paris, Bibl. Nat.
MSS. Dupuis, vol. 547, fol. 323.
246 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vn. to compromise either her or Mary.1 An attempt
to implicate the Bishop of Winchester also failed.2
It does not seem to have been Cromwell's intention
to proceed with any great severity against the nun
and her accomplices or dupes, for the examination had
shown that no real danger was to be apprehended
November from them. She was made to stand at St. Paul's Cross,
23, 1533. .£Q rea(j a confession? anc[ to listen to a sermon about
her folly,3 after which she was sent back to prison.
Several of her adherents, however, were released on
bail — to the disgust of Cranmer, who advocated the
adoption of stern measures.4 As for those whose
names appeared on the list of compromised persons,
Cromwell's aim was to terrify them by giving them
the impression that they might at any moment be
sent to the Tower. A few of them were informed
of the danger in which they stood, and hastened to
make their most humble submission ; 5 but the great
majority were left in suspense whether they were to
be punished or not. All this was very agreeable to
Cromwell, with whose plans it perfectly accorded.
Marcus Meyer had inspired Henry with fresh courage,
and now the nun had provided the secretary with
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., November 20, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 228, i. fol. 125.
2 Examination of John Mores, loc. cit.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., November 24, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 228, i. fol. 130.
4 Archbishop Crarimer to Cromwell, December 16, 1533, and
January 5, 1534, KO. Cranmer's Letters, Nos. 8 and 10.
5 Lady Exeter to Cromwell, Wednesday, E.G. Cromwell
Correspondence, vol. x. fol. 199; and Henry Gold to Cromwell,
Ibid. vol. xiv. fol. 4, etc.
ANNE BOLEYN. 247
the means of overawing the opposition, while the CHAP, vn.
king had been more than ever irritated against
the conservative party. Everything appeared favour-
able to a revival of the energetic policy which had
been followed during the spring.
Meanwhile, the Bishop of Winchester had proceeded Clement
to the French court, which he reached some time
before the arrival of the pope. On the llth of , at
JxlfJ ¥ ^P ?*/ IP 9
October, Clement landed near Marseilles, and on the October '
following day he made his solemn entry into the town.1 12) lt 33*
Two or three days being spent in ceremonious visits
and public consistories, negotiations did not begin
until the 16th, but they were carried on very quickly,
for the ground had been prepared.2 Henry's ridiculous Clement
demand that the pope should forthwith revoke the ^okefhe
sentence of the llth of July, and decide the whole sentence
question in his favour, was politely refused by
Clement, who said that the acts of the cause were at
Eome, and that without them he could do nothing.
Francis, who had not seriously pressed the demand,
informed the English ambassadors of Clement's
answer, but declared that other* means would be
found to satisfy their king.3 Gardiner seems to
have taken this very ill, for he immediately sent
1 Secretary Berthereau to J. de Dinteville, October 15, 1533,
Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 547, fol. 273.
2 Ibid. ; and Account of Jean du Bellay, Paris, Bibl. Nat.
MSS. Dupuis, vol. 33, fol. 52.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., November 3, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 228, i. fol. 120 ; and J. de Dinteville to Francis I.,
November 2, 1533, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 547,
fol. 276.
248 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vii. a courier to England to apprise Henry of the dis-
appointment of his hopes.1
Discussion Three days later, on the 20th, a kind of dis-
Putation was held at the lodging of Cardinal Duprat,
Anne, the Chancellor of France, in which the auditor
20, 1533. Simon etta, the nuncio, and Dr. Burla, a canonist of
some repute, took part. The cardinal complained of
the brief of the llth of July. Clement, he said,
had annulled the marriage of Anne, and had declared
her children illegitimate. But Anne had never been
cited to answer the charge against her ; and whatever
might be the faults of Henry she ought not to be
punished for them, nor for her own, without having
an opportunity of defending herself. To this, Simo-
netta replied that, as Anne had known, the pope had
threatened to excommunicate any woman who should
contract marriage lite pendente with Henry. Her
marriage had been annulled because it was contrary
to the papal inhibition, and she had no cause of
complaint.
But Simonetta did not make a very decided stand,
for there was some force in the argument of Duprat.
The imperial agents had, indeed, long discussed the
question whether Anne should be cited or not.2
Chapuis had been of opinion that the pope ought to
order her under pain of excommunication to leave the
court of Henry ; but it seems that this was ultra
1 Gardiner, Bryan, and Wallop, to Lord Lisle, October 17,
1533, Gairdner, Letters and Papers, vol. vi. p. 526 ; and E.
Chapuis to Charles V., November 3, 1533, loc. cit,
2 Cyfuentes to Charles V., October 24, 1533, British Museum,
Add. MSS. 28,586, fol. 42.
ANNE BOLEYN. 249
vires. When the news of the marriage arrived, the CHAP, vn.
question was once more thoroughly argued, and the
imperial lawyers considered that the citation of Anne
would greatly complicate the proceedings. She
might send an excusator to plead that the statutes
of premunire prevented her from appearing at Rome,
and by legal artifices delay the cause for years. So
she was not summoned, but the imperial agents were
aware that this might not be quite regular.1
It was on this ground that Clement intended to Clement's
base the concessions he was ready to make. A deed P10P°*
had been drawn up by which, at Henry's request,
he assented to the cause being reheard at Avignon
before special legates, on condition that the king
should acknowledge the authority of the pope, and
promise to submit to his final judgment. Nothing
remained but to execute the deed, and Gardiner was
called upon to produce the full powers he had said he
held. He coolly declared that he had not spoken the
truth, that he had no full powers, and that he could
not bind his master to such conditions.2 The French
king, perceiving that he had again been duped by the
English, became very angry, and said to Gardiner that
he would no longer exert himself for a man who
behaved like the King of England. Gardiner replied
rather haughtily, and Francis went to the pope and
indignantly reported what had happened. Shortly
afterwards, on the 27th of October, the marriage 27, 1533.
1 Memorial sent from Rome by R. de Avalos, British Museum,
Add. MSS. 28,586, fol. 94.
2 Instructions to du Bellay, Legrand, iii. p. 571 ; and Account
of J. du Bellay, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 33, fol. 62,
250 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vii. of the Duke of Orleans and Catherine del Medici
was concluded without any previous decision regarding
Henry's affairs.1
After some reflection Francis resolved to make
another effort to settle the English difficulty. He sent
October Guillaume du Bellay to Gardiner, and on the 24th, at
24, 1533. ^u Beiiay 's request, Gardiner despatched a courier to
London to ask for the necessary powers to sign the
agreement Francis had proposed. It was hoped that
Clement would remain until the messenger returned,
and that all might still be peacefully settled.2
Anger of But on the 25th of October Henry had received
Henry. Gardiner's letter of the 17th, in which the bishop
25^1533 rePorte(l that Clement had refused to dispose of the
matrimonial cause in the offhand manner that had
been suggested. Henry became pale with anger and
crushed Gardiner's letter in his hand, exclaiming
that he was betrayed, and that the King of France
was not the true friend he had thought. He con-
tinued for some time to swear at the pope, and could
not regain his equanimity.3
His wrath was carefully nursed by all who
wished for a final rupture with Kome. Cromwell
opposed an arrangement which would increase the
influence of France abroad and of the French party at
1 Cyfuentes to Charles V., November 6, 15 33, British Museum,
Add. MSS. 28,586, fol. 49.
2 Instructions to J. du Bellay, Legrand, vol. iii. p. 571 ;
Account of du Bellay, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 33,
fol. 57; and Cyfuentes to Charles V., November 6, 1533, British
Museum, Add. MSS. 28,586, fol. 49.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., November 3, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 228, i. fol. 120.
ANNE BOLEYN. 251
the English court, while Anne was alarmed at the CHAP. \-n.
prospect of the question of the divorce being re-opened,
and the validity of her own marriage being thereby
disputed. They combined, therefore, to prevent Henry
from considering the matter calmly, and they were
successful. When, on the 1st of November, the
courier who brought Gardiner's letter of the 24th
arrived, the king was in a most defiant mood. He
at once decided to refuse the request, and instructions
to that effect were sent to the ambassadors at
Marseilles.
The draft of these instructions, which is still
preserved at the Eecord Office, seems to be in the twm to
handwriting of Cromwell, but the style resembles that English
of the king rather than that of the secretary. " Upon ambassa-
the saying of Monsieur de Langeay," it begins, " of November
the appointment of two legates, the one a Frenchman *' 1(
the other of the pope's chosing, to determine the
matter in Avignon, the same has- been offered hereto-
fore if the king's highness would condescend to make
a proxy and grant the pope's jurisdiction, that the
pope would then have made a commission to two
cardinals whereof the one should be Cardinal de
Monte to determine the cause at Cambray, which place
is much more propice and tute and sure for the king
than Avignon." ..." Item as touching the sending of
the proxy it is to be answered what needs the proxy
to be sent when the French king at sundry times
promised at this enterview to be proctor himself."
The writer goes on to argue against the course pur-
sued by Francis, and directs the ambassadors to bribe,
if possible, Queen Catherine's proctor. He concludes
252 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vii. with the words : " Item to provoke as may be the
general council, which will more fear the pope than
all other things."1
With these instructions a courier left England on
the 1st of November, and made such haste that on
the 6th he was at . Marseilles. Here he found Doctor
Bonner, who had received at Lyons a copy of the
Henry's king's appeal to a council, and had been ordered to join
tne Bishop of Winchester at Marseilles and to con-
cer^ furtner measures with him.2 The despatch was
handed to Gardiner, who acquainted Bonner with its
contents ; and both were of opinion that the appeal
should be intimated without further delay. But such
an intimation would of course put an end to the
negotiations, and it would prove that Henry had all
along been trying to deceive Francis. It would,
moreover, be a gross insult to the French king's guest.
Francis was already in a sufficiently bad temper ;
and he might, perhaps, show Bonner and his colleagues
that diplomatic privileges were accorded only in re-
turn for diplomatic behaviour, and that France still
had dungeons and gallows for those who roused the
king's anger.
On the whole, it seemed best to the English
ministers to begin by feeling their ground with
Francis. They accordingly told him in general terms
1 Instructions to the Ambassadors, RO. Henry VIII. Box P ;
abstracted, Gairdner, Letters and Papers, vol. vi. p. 333.
2 Henry VIII. to Bonner, August 18, 1533, Strype, Memorials
of Cranmer, App. No. iv. ; Henry VIII. to Bonner, British
Museum, Cotton MSS. Vit. B. xiv. fol. 52 ; and Bonner to
Henry VIII., October 16, 1533, Gairdner, Letters and Papers,
vol. vi. p. 525.
ANNE BOLEYN. 253
what Bonner had been ordered to do. The king CHAP. vn.
immediately tried to dissuade them from their
purpose. " Your king," he exclaimed, " thinks him-
self a wise man, but he is simply a fool. He is
working in the interest of the queen, for by this
appeal he admits that he knows of the sentence of
the llth of July and nevertheless disregards it. Let
him know that if, in consequence of his behaviour, he
is excommunicated, I have declared and declare that
I shall not assist him against the pope." l
But although Francis was greatly displeased, he spoke
neither of hanging nor of prisons, and the English
ministers came to the conclusion that the message of
Bonner might be delivered without risk to their
necks. So the doctor, taking Girolamo Penizzoni The ap-
with him as a witness, went on the 7th to the pope, p^ated to
and after some preliminary talk intimated Henry's *J«W«-
-1 . J November
appeal. When Clement perceived what was meant, 7, 1533.
he interrupted for a moment the reading of the
different papers, and spoke bitterly of Henry's
disrespect and ingratitude.2
While the papers were being read, Francis was
announced, and the pope hastened to complain to clement
him of the insult he was receiving. " Being your tries to
guest," said Clement in effect, " I allow people to rupture
enter without insisting on all the formalities which England
are used at Kome. These men, relying; on this, have ®nd
.J & France.
come in without asking the permission of anybody,
1 Cyfuentes to Charles V., November 9, 1533, British Museum,
Add. MSS. 28,586, fol. 62.
2 Bonner to Henry VIII., November 13, 1533, Burnet,
Collectanea, part iii. book ii. No. 23.
254 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vii. and have just done that which at Eome would entail
capital punishment. I have shown myself ready to
do all that I can, but the King of England has acted
in a totally different manner. You ought, therefore,
to forsake his alliance and to unite with the Holy
See against him."
Francis was not a little annoyed by Bonner's
insolence ; and afterwards he promised that he would
no longer support Henry's cause, protesting that he
was as displeased with the King of England as his
holiness could be.2 But as to an open rupture with
1 Account of J. du Bellay, loc. cit. fol. 56: "Je presuppose
que vous scavez . . . comment apres toutes concertations a llieure
que le Boy venoyt pour sur ce point la et a linstant mesmes
prendre avec le pape a ung jour une resolution de faire affaire il
rencontra les ambassadeurs dangleterre qui venoyent de signiffier
au pape lappellation au futur concile, comment il trouva le pape
en colere, comment il etc.
" Le pape done vinct a grandement se lamenter que non seule-
ment le Roy dangleterre les eust tous deulx desprisez en faisant
ceste innovation mais eust grandement abuse de la couverture du
Roy car soubs couleur que le pape estoit logie chez luy au moyen
de quoy sa sainctete donnoyt entree indiferement a chacung sans
user de la ceremonie que a Rome il est accoustume de user a ses
audiences ces docteurs sestoyent venuz insinuer et se presenter
sans demander congie a huissier chambrier ne aultre et avoyent
faict chose que a Rome eust este capitale cest de luy signifier
ceste appellacion (chose que veritableinent les diets docteurs con-
fessoient bien avoir faict pour la dicte rayson sachant quil ne
leur seroyt loisible de la povoir faire ailleurs). Concluoyt la
dessus le pape sestant de son coste tout voulu mectre en son
debvoir et le Roy dangleterre faict au contraire que le Roy le
debvroyt reputer pour enemy et se mectre contre luy avec le
sainct siege apostolique."
2 Cyfuentes to Charles V., November 9, 1533, loc. cit. ; and
Account of J. du Bellay, loc. cit. fol. 60 : " Le Roy que ne povoyt
nyer ne excuser lerreur quavoyent faicte ces deputez et voyant la
ANNE BOLEYN. 255
England, that might lead to results which would be CHAP, vn.
injurious to the interests even of the Holy See. If the
King of England became desperate, he might throw
himself into the arms of people whose alliance would
be hurtful not only to the pope and Francis, but to
the whole of Christendom. Henry had asserted (Francis
said) that, after all, if things came to the worst, he
might take back his wife and keep the other as his
mistress, and that then he and the emperor might
jointly make war upon the French. In fact, the King
of England had discussed this scheme with some of
his most confidential ministers.1 If it were not for
principale occasion de son voyage estre par cest acte demeure a
neant, se trouva fort enmiye car a la verite il ne povoit nyer au
pape quil neust raison de dire ce quil disoyt. Et apres avoir
faict parler aux ambassadeurs dangleterre (je croy que ce fust
par vous) et veu le peu de fondement quil trouvoyt de leur coste
ne sceust faire de moins que de consentir au pape de ne luy
parler plus de ceste affaire et a venir traicter des aultres." . . .
1 Account of Jean du Bellay, loc. cit. fol. 60 : " Mais den
venir jusques la que de se declarer contre le Sr. Roy dangleterre
il remonstra le dommaige quil feroyt aux affaires publiques et
mesmement au sainct siege car telle chose pourroyt advenir que
encores serviroyt bien ung mediateur et aultre ne sen povoit
trouver que luy ; aussy que faisant icelle declaration cestoyt le
vray moyen de desesperer le diet Roy et de le contraindre de se
venir jecter entre les mains de gens dont lalliance pourroyt estre
dommeagable non a eulx deulx seulement mais a toute chrestiente.
Joinct quil estoyt eschappe au roy dangleterre de dire a quelqung
que la ou le Roy son frere luy fauldroyt au pis alter il seroyt
tousjours quicte pour reprendre sa femme au contentement de
lempereur, entretenant laultre pour sa mye, et quil mectoyt telz
partys en avant au diet empereur contre le roy avec lequel il
estoyt en ... quilz le renieroyent eulx deux ensemble et de
faict cestoyent propoz quil avoyt secretement concertez avec ses
plus privez et familiers."
256 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vii. this, so Francis assured the pope, he would play
Henry a trick the latter should long remember.1
But Clement was really angry, and urged so per-
sistently that the insult which had been offered to
him should be avenged, that Francis began to speak of
Calais as the price for which he was ready to turn
against Henry. The pope readily assented, and the
proposal was submitted to the two chief ministers of
Francis, the grand master and the admiral. They
both commended it, for they had lost patience with
Henry, and were anxious that he should be
abandoned.2
Francis "With the English ambassadors Francis had a
^English violent quarrel. " You will have me do for you,"
ambassa- jie sa^ . « an(j wnen I and my council devise after
what we may do, you regard us not therein, but of
yourself do things clearly contrary ; and as fast as
I study to win the pope, you study to lose him."
" You see," he continued, " the effect of all your
desires : they refuse that should receive." Gardiner
said that whatever had been done had been done
with the knowledge and consent of Francis ; but the
king answered that he had never supposed they would
go so far as they had gone. " I desired," he ex-
claimed, " to have a proxy sent, and that was not
only left behind, but also, in lieu of that, an intima-
tion sent." 3 Francis declared that he would have no
1 Cyfuentes to Charles V., November 9, 1533, loc. cit. : "Que
sino tuviera necessidad de tenerlo por amigo a causa que otros
no lo tomassen le haria una burla que se le acordasse." 2 Ibid.
3 The English Ambassadors at Marseilles to Henry YIII.,
November, 1533, British Museum, Arundel MSS. 151, fol. 192;
and Gairdner, Letters and Papers, vol. vi. p. 571.
ANNE BOLEYN. 257
more to do with the matter, and for the moment it CHAP. vu.
seemed as if he intended to keep his word.
The pope, after the insult he had received, was The
loath to stay ; and Francis, who could not now /f^fs
expect a favourable reply from Henry, did not try Marseilles.
to detain him. On the llth of November, Clement
gave his formal answer to Bonner, rejecting the
appeal of Henry as utterly illegal, and on the 12th November
he mounted his galley and departed.1 Negotiations
might be resumed, but instead of being conducted
between the pope and the King of France in person,
they would henceforth have to be carried on by
subordinate ministers.
Before leaving Marseilles, the pope had once more November
Q -I " »J>«>
tried his luck with Cyfuentes, and had spoken about
the cession of Calais to the French. But in the
preceding summer the reserve of the Spanish ambas-
sador had been approved of by Charles V.? who
thought that Calais was much less dangerous in
English hands than it would be in the hands of the
o
French.2 The count, therefore, would make no
answer to Clement's proposals, and Francis, seeing
that there was nothing to be gained by abandoning
Henry, again attempted to reconcile him to the
Holy See.3
Jean de Dinteville, the French ambassador in DintemlU
London, had done his best to moderate the English "nd
Henry.
1 Bonner to Henry VIII., November 13, 1533, Burnet,
Collectanea, part iii. book ii. No. 23.
2 Relacion de Cartas de Roma, July 5, 1533, British Museum,
Add. MSS. 28,585, fol. 309.
3 Cyfuentes to Charles V., November 9, 1533, British Museum,
Add. MSS. 28,586, fol. 62.
VOL. I. S
258 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vii. policy. He had had several sharp encounters with
the king, and his temper had been sorely tried by
Henry's insincerity and unfairness. The Duke of
Norfolk, with whom Dinteville remonstrated, said
that he could do nothing, as the king would not
listen to any argument, and that he had already lost
credit on account of the opposition he had dared
to offer to extreme measures.1 Dinteville felt re-
lieved when, in the middle of November, de
Castillon, who was to succeed him, arrived in Eng-
land. He decided that, before going away, he would
November speak plainly to Henry ; but at the farewell audience
9, 1533. the king hardly gave him an opportunity of uttering
a word, but himself broke out into vehement re-
criminations. He accused Francis of double-dealing,
and lied with such impudence that the ambassador
1 J. de Dinteville to A. de Montmorency, November 7, 1533,
Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 547, fol. 276 : " ce dit Sieur
Hoy . . . me vouloit f aire a croire que mes instructions portoient
de luy dire que jamais le Hoy ne feroit le mariaige de Mgr
dorleans que le pape ne depeschat son affaire selon son intention,
mais jamais je ne luy voulu accord er quainsi feust . . . je
devisay bien amplement avec Mr de Norsfort auquel je re-
monstroit . . . que sil (Francis) entendoit que ses peines et
labeurs outre la grande despence quil faict feussent si mal
reconnus de la part de ce Roy, que je ne doubtays point quil sen
ennuyeroit et fascheroit . . . et que Ion peut bien tant presser
et fascher son amy que Ion sen faict importun. . . . Mgr je vous
puis bien asseurer quilz sont plusieurs du conseil de ce Eoy qui
trouvent ces raisons dessus dictes veritables et tres bonnes
et principallement Mr de Norsfort, mais il ma diet quil trouve
le Roy son maistre si tres embrouille en son cerveau de ceste
affaire quil ne se fie a homme vivant et que . . . il congnoist
tres bien que luy et la Royne sont en souspecon bien souvent
centre luy pour 3 amour de ce dit affaire."
ANNE BOLEYN. 259
stood amazed. Even Norfolk was shocked by Henry's CHAP. vn.
behaviour, and subsequently admitted to Dinteville
that in what the king had said he had not always
adhered to the truth.1
Dinteville was so angry that the English ministers
of the French party tried to calm him. Suffolk
spoke of Cromwell's influence, and Norfolk and Sir
William Fitzwilliam made other excuses for the king.
Anne, true to her French sympathies, and glad at
heart that no compromise had been effected, was
most gracious to the departing ambassador, and loud
in her praise of the French;2 and her cousin, Sir
Francis Bryan, who, at the request of the French
king, had hastened back to London, spoke in the
same sense, and did his best to soothe the mutual
irritation.3
1 Keport of J. de Dinteville, November, 1533, Paris, Bibl.
Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 547, fol. 321. : "II ne scait si Ion veult
faire a lancienne facon de France quy est de mener et entretenir
les gens pendant quilz en ont affaire sans venir au poinct mays
de user de dissimulation qui est chose par ou on ne le menera
pas" . . . and "Nota, que Mr de Norsfort dit nen avoir du
tout tant diet "... and " Quant a lentreveue dont il a este
adverty quon a parle deulx deux il ne peult penser pour quelles
raisons . . . combien quil y a plus de deux moys que le diet
sieur maye touche quelque mot de la dicte entrevue. Nota quil
ne veult quil soit sceu."
2 Ibid. fol. 323 and 324 : " Nota que tout le conseil dangle-
terre est bien marry de quoy leur Roy est si aigre . . . Mr le
Tresorier est fort marry de quoy son maistre est tant passionne
. . . de dire a Mr le grandmaistre les propoz de Monsgr de
Suffoc touchant Cramouel " ; and E. Chapuis to Charles V.,
December 16, 1533, Vienna Archives, P.O. 228, i. fol. 145.
3 E. Chapuis to Charles Y., December 16, 1533, loc. cit. : "La
dame disculpe fort les francois sy a faict Brian Turcq depuis son
S 2
260 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHARJII. But Dinteville was not to be regained so easily.
On his return to France he wrote a long record of
what had been said, and sent it to the court, where
it was received with much displeasure. It was not
made less disagreeable to Francis by the fact that
Henry's accusations seemed to be something more
than the passing talk of an angry man. For several
weeks he remained in the same temper, abusing
Francis and complaining of his want of faith.1
At Marseilles, Jean du Bellay had offered to go once
more to England to try to bring Henry to reason.
He now received long and elaborate instructions as
retourd de Marseilles." Brian Turcq, which would mean Sir
Bryan Tuke, is a clerical error for Briant, which means Sir
Francis Bryan. Tuke was not at Marseilles, and that Sir
Francis was sent in October from France to England we know
from the Account of Jean du Bellay, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS.
Dupuis, 33, fol. 57 : " Prevoyant le B,oy la precipitation ou ilz
estoient pour se jecter avoyt prier et persuader Bryant par
plusieurs bons moyens daller en diligence faire arrester toutes
choses jusques a la venue du diet evesque de Paris. . . ."
1 Mr de Castillon to J. du Bellay, November 17, 1533, Paris,
Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 33, fol. 19: "Je ne vous mettre
qung mot des choses de se pays cest quelles sont en telz termes
que le Boy dangleterre commence fort a dimynuer de lamytie et
fiance qui pencoyt avoyr a jametz avec le B,oy voyant que sy
f roydement il a precede avec le pape veil les aliances et longtemps
quil ont este ensemble. Et davantaige il se resoult de toutalle-
ment se mettre et luy et son pays hors de lobeissance du pape
voulant faire prescher la sainte parolle de dieu par tout son pays
ayant ferme foy que par icelle nostre seigneur laydera en son bon
droit. Qui est une chose tres mauvaise pour lexemple que les
aultres princes y pourront prendre, touteffois il en est tout resolu
et la pluspart des seigneurs dautour de luy et de tout le pays y
sont ja enclins " ; and E. Chapuis to Charles Y., December 6,
1533, Vienna Archives, P.O. 228, i. fol. 132,
ANNE BOLEYN. 261
to the past, containing a defence of the proceedings CHAP. vn.
of Francis and a severe criticism on those of Henry.
In carrying on negotiations du Bellay was to have great
latitude, because, being more intimately acquainted
with England, Henry, and the Boleyns, than anybody
else in France, he would know best what could be
done.1 With this mission the bishop left, saw Dinte-
ville on the road, and arrived at London on the English
17th of December.2 He found (as Francis had been ncowrt
>• December
warned) that Henry had decided to reject openly the 17, 1533.
papal supremacy, and that all the necessary prepara-
tions for the schism had been made.3 But du Bellay
was not disheartened. He was much liked by Anne,
who trusted his friendship for her, and from her he
feared no very stubborn resistance. In dealing with
Henry, the bishop adopted a bold but judicious
course. When the king again broke out into com-
plaints and recriminations, accusing Francis of having
violated his word, du Bellay interrupted him with a
threat of instant war.4 The decided tone of the
1 Account of du Bellay, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis,
vol. 33, fol. 52.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., December, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 228, i. fol. 149.
3 Henry VIII. to Sir John "Wallop, December 1533, State
Papers, vol. vii. p. 524.
4 Account of Jean du Bellay, loc. cit., fol. 61 : " Etponrceque
encores avoyt le diet Roy adjouste parlant a quelqung que le
Roy luy avoit promis de jamais ne faire ce mariaige sans son
consentement expres et quen ceste promesse luy avoyt failly, des
aultres choses qui ne touchoyent son honneur il estoit pour en
pardonner une bonne partie a la passion et colere de son frere.
Mays quand a ce qui touchoyt son honneur il ny avoyt homme
concession.
262 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vii. bishop made some impression on Henry, and lie went
Henry's so far as to promise that he would not separate from
Eome if, within nine weeks, he heard from du Bellay
that the pope, without further proceedings, would
issue before Easter-day a brief annulling the sen-
tence of the llth of July, declaring the marriage
with Catherine to be null and void, and confirming
the marriage with Anne Boleyn.1 If, at the end of
the term of nine weeks, Henry was not informed that
the pope would do before Easter-day what was re-
quired of him, the schism would be proceeded with.2
Du Bellay knew that the proposal presented a very
slender foundation for a compromise ; but he had at
least prevented an immediate rupture, and he hoped
au monde a qui il en laissast passer le gros dung cheveu et pour
ce le prioyt en fraternite et araitie commune que sil avoyt tenu
ce propoz quil sen departit car sil y vouloyt perseverer il scavoyt
bien ce quil avoyt accoustume de respondre quand on le chargeoyt
de son honneur et en avoyt veu peu dannees au precedent
lexperience et que luy nen povoit pas moins actendre."
1 Castillon to Francis I. March 16, 1534, Paris, Bibl. Nat.
MSS. Francais, vol. 5499, fol. 197 : "Quand Monsieur de Paris
partit dicy la conclusion que ce Roy print avec luy estoit que si
sans forme de proces nostre Sainct Pere luy vouloit accorder sa
demande et que ce fust devant pasques il ne procederoit point a
la separation de lobeissance de leglise romaine. Mais si dedans
ceterme it navoit la dicte sentence il en feroit la publication."
2 J. du Bellay to Castillon, February 8, 1534, Paris, Bibl. Nat.
MSS. Francais, vol. 5499, fol. 191 : "Que je ne soye prins de si
pres que du xxvme de ce moys ; " and J. du Bellay to Francis I.,
February 8, 1534, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Francais, vol. 5499,
fol. 189: "Quil vous plaise ordonner une bonne depesche en
angleterre pour impetrer ung peu plus de temps que celuy quon a
donne a moy de Paris."
ANNE BOLEYN. 263
that in the course of the negotiation Henry would CHAP. vu.
become more tractable. With this result he left
the English court on the 29th of December, and December
OQ 1 P\QQ
went in all haste to confer with Francis and
Montmorency.1
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., January 3, 1534, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 229, i. fol. 1.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE PAPAL SENTENCE.
HENRY did not consider that his concessions to
du Bellay bound him to remain idle until the pope
should arrive at a final decision. The policy advo-
cated by Anne, Cranrner, and the other reformers, was
indeed pursued with new vigour. If the pope chose
to submit, to annul all that had been decided at
Eome, and to ratify all that had been done in Eng-
land, so much the better. If not, Henry wished to
be ready for definite action.
What he wanted was that his spiritual supremacy
aims, should be fully admitted, that his marriage with Anne
should be acknowledged to be valid, and that Eliza-
beth should be recognised as heir apparent. During
the session opened on the 15th of January parliament
was to be engaged in passing the necessary measures.
An But there was still so strong a feeling in England
attempt to against the marriage of Henry with Anne, that the
coerce the . .
clergy, government considered it prudent to take some pre-
liminary steps before submitting the matter to par-
liament. It drew up a declaration to the effect that
convocation had declared the marriage of Henry and
ANNE BOLEYN. 265
Catherine to have been null and void from the be- CHAP.VIH.
ginning, and had pronounced the marriage of Henry
and Anne to be good and lawful. This declaration
the higher secular clergy and the heads of houses
were called upon to sign, and every artifice was
employed to obtain signatures. The recusants were
threatened with the king's anger, they were reviled
and insulted by the royal commissioners, and all
kinds of accusations were invented against them to
put them in fear of their lives.1 A great many
signatures were thus secured ; but the document was
opposed by no less a man than John Stokesley,
the Bishop of London. That convocation had con-
demned the marriage of Henry and Catherine was,
if not strictly true, near the truth ; but Stokesley
remarked that it had been prorogued before the January
marriage with Anne had been officially acknowledged,
and that it had never even been asked to give an
opinion on the subject. So he begged to be excused
from signing the paper. He proposed that the text
of the declaration should be altered, so as to be more
in accordance with the well known facts.2 But as
this would have created fresh difficulties, the sug-
gestion did not recommend itself to Cromwell, and
after some angry discussion the paper was finally
suppressed.
1 Friars of Greenwich to E. Chapuis, December 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 228, iii. fol. 14; Account of the Proceedings
of the Bishop of Chester and Master Bedell at the Convent at
Greenwich, Vienna Archives, P.C. 228, iii. fol. 16 ; and the Friars
of Greenwich to Henry VIII., December 11, 1533, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 228, iii. fol. 18.
2 Stokesley to Bedell, January 4, 1534, E.G. Box Q, No. 181.
266 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vm. The attempt to obtain signatures to this declara-
Martfs tion was not the only step taken to facilitate the
tensions, proceedings in Parliament. An effort was also made
to overcome the difficulty arising from the pretensions
of Mary. The importance of this difficulty was not
underrated, for Henry was well aware that most of
his subjects were secretly loyal to the princess, and
would do their best to defend her rights. If she
herself could be made to renounce her claims as
heir apparent, his way would be comparatively
clear.
October Soon after the birth of Elizabeth, Mary had re-
2' l' 33' ceived orders to lay aside the title of princess, but
she had stoutly refused to do so.1 When Elizabeth
was taken to Hatfield, Mary's household at Beaulieu
was broken up, and she was told that she would
henceforward have to reside with the princess. This
December, message was taken to her by the Duke of Norfolk,
who, when she objected, answered that he had come
not to argue with her but to fulfil the orders of the
king. Mary thereupon asked for half an hour to
prepare for the journey, and this being granted to
her she retired to her chamber, where she signed a
formal protest against the compulsion to which she
was subjected.2 She then allowed herself to be
1 Mary Tudor to Henry VIII., October 2, 1533, P. Heylin,
Ecclesia Restaurata, ed. 1660, p. 10.
2 Chapuis to Charles V., December 16, 1533, Vienna Archives,
P. C. 228, i. fol. 143 : " II luy dit quil nestoit venu pour disputer
ains pour accomplir la voulente et command em ent du Roy questoit
tel que dessus et voyant la dicte princesse quil ny avoit excuse
ne replicque que peust servir elle demanda respit de demy heure
pour entrer en sa chambre ou elle demoura environ le diet espace,
ANNE BOLEYN. 267
placed in a litter, and to be taken to Hatfield, her CHAP.VIIT.
new place of abode. If this harsh treatment some-
what lowered her spirit, she received a little con-
solation from a quarter whence it was least expected.
During the journey it happened that Doctor Fox, the
king's almoner, and one of the royal commissioners,
rode alone at the side of her litter. He seized the
opportunity to say to her secretly that she had done
well not to submit. For the love of God and the
welfare of the realm he besought her to remain firm.
The other commissioners coming up, Fox once more
became the harsh agent of Henry, but Mary was
encouraged by perceiving that even the most trusted
ministers of her father were at heart in her favour.1
At Hatfield Mary was entrusted to the care of
Lady Shelton, a sister of Anne's father. This lady, of
course, did all she could to subdue what she considered
pour faire et passer a ce quentends une protestacion que liiy avois
envoye afin que si par force ou tromperie il la vouloient faire
renuncer a ses drois ou marier a leur appetit ou la faire entrer
en clostre que cela ne luy pust prejudicier et revenant de sa dicte
chambre elle dit au due que puis quil playsoit ainsy au Koy son
pere quelle ny vouloit desobeyr;" and Protestation of Mary,
holograph, attested by Maurice Mistralis de Aviernez as notary ;
Yivianus Montesa, Pern, Machet, and Gleyrod, witnesses at
London. Vienna Archives, P.O. 229, ii. fol. 50.
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., January 10, 1534, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 229, i. fol. 4 : ." Et ma aussy fait scavoir que le docteur foux
que fust lung des commis avec le due de Norfocq pour la mener '
ou elle est et linciter a la dicte renunciation luy avoit dit en
passant ainsy quilz estoient en chemin quelle avoit respondu le
plus vertueusement du monde et que pour lamour de dieu elle
continua a tenir ferme autrement tout ce royaulme estoit en
dangier de ruyne et perdicion. Je crois Sire que cela aydera
beaulcoup a la dite princesse pour estre constante. ..."
268 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vni. the obstinacy of her ward, but she made no im-
pression whatever ; Mary held out.
Henry Henry, surrounded by a crowd of subservient
courtiers who missed no chance of humouring his
vanity, had come to believe in his own powers of
persuasion. He fancied that although others might
fail to influence Mary, he would have no difficulty in
bringing her to his way of thinking. Accordingly,
January on the 10th of January he set out for Hatfield.1
' Knowing his fickleness and the pride he took in
Mary's accomplishments, Anne feared that, instead
of converting his daughter, he might himself be
converted ; so she sent Cromwell and some others
of her friends after the king with instructions to
prevent any meeting between him and Mary.2
They were successful. Henry communicated with
the princess by messengers (who were unable to
shake her fortitude) ; but he had no direct inter-
1 E. Chapuis to Charles Y-., January 10, 1534, loc. cit. : " Yoyant
le Roy que ceulx quil avoyt cydevant envoye devers la princesse
pour luy persuader la renuntiation de son tiltre navoyent rien
peu faire, il est party aujourdhuy pour experimenter si son triacle
sera plus fin que celluy des aultres ; et va charge de belles parolles
et promesses mais beaulcoup plus de horribles menasses. . . ."
2 E. Chapuis to Charles Y., January 17, 1534, Yienna Archives,
P.C. 229, i. No. 6 : " Toutteffoys considerant la dame la facilite
du Roy ou ligierete que louseroys dire et que par la grande beaulte,
vertu et prudence de la dite princesse son pere pourroit abolir le
courroux quil a contre elle et esmeu par les dictes vertuz et de
compassion paternelle estre induict a la mieulx traicter et luy
laisser son tiltre la dicte dame Anne envoya tout incontinent en
diligence Cremuel apres le Roy et depuis aultres messaigiers pour
empescher que le diet Roy en sorte du monde ne parlast a la
princesse ny la vit."
ANNE BOLEYN. 269
view with her. When he was about to leave CHAP.VIIL
Hatfield, having mounted his horse, he saw her
standing at a balcony, and, forgetting his resentment
for a moment, he lifted his cap to her. The courtiers
eagerly followed the example of their master, and
bowed low to Mary, after which the whole cavalcade
went away towards London-1 A few days later, con-
versing with Castillon, Henry could not refrain from
speaking of Mary, and when the ambassador praised
her virtues he sighed deeply, and tears came to his
eyes. It is gratifying to know that even he retained
some feeling of compassion for the daughter whom
he was so deeply injuring.2
However praiseworthy such a feeling might be, Anne and
Anne could not afford to let Henry indulge even
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., January 17, 1534, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 229, i. No. 6 : " Sire estant ce Roy vers sa nouvelle fille la
princesse lenvoya pryer et supplier quelle luy peust baiser les mains.
II ny eust ordre dimpetrer la dicte requeste, quoy voyant la
dicte princesse ainsi quil vouloit monte a cheval elle allast sur une
terrasse au hault de la mayson pour le veoir ; de quoy adverty
le diet Sgr Roy ou par adventure par fortune il se retourna Ting
peu devers elle et la voyant getter a genoulx et joinctes mains il
luy inclina la teste mectant la main au chappeau, lors tous ceulx
que la assistoient que devant ne ousoient haulser leurs testes pour
la regarder resjouiz et animes de ce que le Roy avoit fait la
saluerent tres reverentement avec signifficacion de bonne volonte
et compassion."
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., February 11, 1534, Vienna Archives?
P.C. 229, i. fol. 32 : " Sire lambassadeur de France ma compte
que revenant ce Roy de veoyr sa nouvelle fille yl dit a icelluy
ambassadeur quil navoit voulu parler a la princesse a cause quelle
se rendoit tant obstinee envers luy et que cela tenoit elle du sang
despagne. Et luy disant le diet ambassadeur que a ce quit
entendoit elle avoyt este fort bien nourrie, les lermes luy vindrent
aux yeulx et si ne se peult tenir de la louer de plusieurs choses."
270 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. VIIL momentary impulses of kindness for one whom she
had such good reason to fear. She remembered
Cromwell's attempt to have Mary legitimated, and
rightly suspected him of being still favourable to
her ; l and it seemed not impossible that the king
himself would by-and-bye share the sympathies of
January the secretary. On the 15th of January Anne spoke
is, n 34. ^ ^e king, reproaching him for allowing Mary too
much liberty, and for permitting her to receive advice
and encouragement. To Anne it was incredible that
that the answers framed by Mary could be prepared
by so young a girl without help.2
With this opinion Henry was disposed to agree.
During the summer of 1532 Mary's movements had
been watched, and Lord and Lady Exeter, who were
known to be her great friends, had been forbidden
to visit her.3 Now the king's suspicions had again
1 Cromwell's Memoranda, end of 1533, British Museum, Cotton
MSS., Titus B. i. fol. 461, and Gairdner, Letters and Papers,
vol. vi. p. 251 : "Those things with my Lady Mary which are
not meet for the princess to be also brought thither. To remember
what danger is in war and that the commons were better to bear
a contribution to find in the estate that she now is in and to
avoid war than to diminish anything." The last sentence is
struck out.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., January 17, 1534, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 229, i. fol. 8 : " Sire Ion me vient de dire que avant hier la
dame ayant entendu les responces si prudentes de la princesse
elle avoit faict grand querymonie au Roy de ce quil ne faisoit
tenir si court la princesse quelle ne feust si bien conseillee ni
advisee quelle avoit este jusques yci, et que nestoit a croire que
ses responces et propoz vinssent sans suggestion dautruy."
3 E. Chapuis to Charles V., July 22, 1532, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 227, iv. fol. 57 : "Le due de Norphoc a ces jours, premiere-
rnent en particulier et puis en presence du conseil du Roy, deffendu
ANNE BOLEYN. 271
fastened upon Lord Exeter, and about Christmas, CHAP.VIII.
1533, he used very threatening language to the Lord
marquis. It was Mary's confidence in the emperor, warned.
said Henry, that made her so wilful and obstinate. De^^er)
But she would soon have to submit, for he feared
neither the emperor nor anybody else. It would be
the duty of his subjects to stand by him if a conflict
arose, and he did not doubt that they would do so.
Persons who played him false would pay for it with
the loss of their heads. He would cause such good
watch to be kept that no one would be able either
to send letters to, or to receive letters from, the
continent without his knowing it.1 These warnings
did not frighten Lord Exeter, who continued by
means of his wife to correspond with Chapuis.
To the complaints of Anne, Henry replied that Lady
i f JlJr 1,1,3k 11 J J 8heUan'8
henceforward Mary should be more closely guarded ; imubordi-
and we find that shortly afterwards the Duke of nation'
au Marquis que sur lindignacion du Roy que luy ne sa femme
deussent aller en lieu que se treuve la princesse le mesme a este
dit au frere du grand prieur de Saint Jehan qua sa mayson tout
aupres de la dicte princesse et a este commande a celluy qua la
garde delle que fasse bon guet sur ceulx que la yront veoir et de
tout cecy me vint hier advertir la marquise mesmes."
1 E. Chapuis to Charles Y., January 17, 1534, Vienna Archives,
P.C. 229, i. No. 6 : " Et y a environ xx jours que le diet Sr Roy
dit au Marquis que la confiance que la dicte princesse avoit a Yre
Ma*6 la rendoit difficile et obstinee, mais que la feroit venir au
point car il ne craignoit ni Yre Mate ni aultre, mais que le diet
Marquis et aultres ses vassaulx luy feussent loyaulx quil pensoit
quilz seroient et que aussy ne besoignoit que nul deulx ne chan-
cellast ny variast le moings du monde quil ne vouldroit perdre la
teste et quil feroit faire si bon guect quilz ne scaurroient escripre
ny recepvoir lectres de dela la mer quil nen soit adverty."
272 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vm. Norfolk and Lord Rochford upbraided Lady Shelton
February, for her leniency and weakness, and ordered her to
1 P^*} \
treat Mary more severely, as the bastard she was.
Lady Shelton, who seems to have been a good
woman, and to have pitied her unhappy ward, an-
swered with much spirit that Mary was kind and
gentle and did not merit harsh treatment. Anne
was enraged at this insubordination of her aunt, and
became even more indignant when she heard that some
• Essex peasants had assembled under Mary's balcony
and cheered her, calling out that she was the rightful
princess.1 It is said that Anne, after this display
of loyal feeling, sent an order to Lady Shelton,
directing that Mary should be beaten if she per-
sisted in calling herself princess, and that if she
would not dine at the common table she was to
have nothing to eat at all.2 But Mary was not
beaten, and the king was charged the extravagant
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., February 21, 1534, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 229, i. fol. 37 : "A laquelle gouvernante le due
de Norfoch et le frere de la dicte Anne dirent naguyeres beaul-
coup de grosses parolles a cause quelle usoit trop dhonnestete et
humanite a leur semblant envers la dicte princesse que comme il
disoit ne debvoit estre honoree ny traictee que comme une bastarde
quelle estoit. A quoy respondist laultre que oyres que ainsy
fust voyre quelle fust bastarde dung pouvre gentilhomme que
sa bonte doulceur et vertu meritoient tout honneur et bon
traictement ; " and "A ins a cause que les pay sans dautour dela
la voyant pardessus une galerie la saluoient a haulte voix pour
leur vraye princesse elle est maintenant tenue plus de
court."
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., February 11, 1534, Vienna
Archives, P.C. 229, i. fol. 32: "Quelle luy dounast des buffes
comme a une mauldicte bastarde quelle estoit. . . ."
ANNE BOLEYN. 273
sum of ten shillings a week for the breakfast and CHAP.VHT.
supper which were supplied to her in her room.1
Anxious to use every weapon with which it was
possible to strike at the opponents of the divorce,
the government tried at this time to profit by the
accusations against the holy maid of Kent and those
who had been associated with her. After she had
stood at St. Paul's Cross, Cranmer had written a
book railing against her vain prophecies ; and he
was irritated by hearing of a reply by a certain friar
Dering, whom Cromwell had just saved from his
clutches. Dering, when examined, declared that he January 9
had burned his book ; but Cranmer declined to be-
lieve him, kept him in prison, and vehemently de-
manded that he should be visited with all the rigour
of the law. The archbishop also asked Cromwell to
have the other adherents of the nun re-examined,
and urged that " good and politic mean " should be
taken at once for their trial.2
Cromwell had no theological hatred, but as it suited
his purpose to adopt Cranmer's advice, the friar was
kept in confinement, and new arrests were made.
The nun could not very well be tried again, but the
government framed a bill of attainder against her,
and against her aiders and abettors, for high treason
and misprision of treason. The general tenour of
the bill was not concealed, but the names included
in it were kept secret. The consequence was that
everybody who had ever encouraged the nun was in
1 Privy purse expenses of the Lady Elizabeth.
2 Archbishop Cranmer to Cromwell, January 5, 1534, R.O.
Cranmer letters, No. 10.
VOL. I. T
274 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vm. no little anxiety, and, fearing that his name might be
on the terrible list, was anxious to please the king.
In this way the government bridled the opposition,
and, as nearly as they could, ensured the passing of
the bills of succession.
Du Bdlay But during the first days of the session no measures
°f anv moment were proposed. Henry evidently
wished to hear what du Bellay might be able to do
at Rome. On leaving England the bishop had re-
paired to the French court, which he had found at
Pied de Pappe, near Avignon.1 Here he gave an
account of what he had obtained from Henry VIII. ;
and the French king, the constable, and the bishop
concerted a plan for carrying on the negotiation.
They felt confident that, if the pope gave way in
the matter of the divorce, Henry might be brought
by flattery and gentle pressure to make larger con-
cessions than he had yet offered. Their idea was that
the pope should first be thoroughly frightened, and
afterwards bribed. It was agreed that he should be lured
by the proposal of a marriage between his nephew
Alexander dei Medici and Mary Tudor — the latter
relinquishing her pretensions to the English throne,
1 J. du Bellay and C. de Denonville, Bishop of Macon, to
Francis I., February 8, 1534, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Frangais,
vol. 5499, fol. 189. Of this letter, as well as of others referring
to this matter, abstracts have been published in the seventh
volume of the Letters and Papers, edited by Mr. Gairdner.
Owing to the involved style of du Bellay and Castillon, and
to the errors of copyists, these abstracts differ very consider-
ably from the true sense. I am informed that the mistakes are
to be corrected in the forthcoming volume of the Letters and
Papers, but in the meantime I feel obliged to quote more fully
from the letters than I would otherwise have done.
ANNE BOLEYN. 275
but receiving a good dowry — and that the old plan CHAP.VIH.
of a tribunal at Cambray should be revived in a
modified form. Two cardinals were to go there
by stealth, an agent of Henry was to meet them,
and the cause was to be heard and judgment
given in favour of the king before Catherine and
her friends could become aware of the opening of
the court.1
The advantages of this scheme, if it could have
been accomplished, would have been great indeed for
Francis and for du Bellay. The French king would
have embroiled the pope and Henry in everlasting
enmity with Charles, and he would have secured the
alliance of both. Duke Alexander would have been
made dependent on France, and a firm footing would
thereby have been gained in upper Italy. As for
du Bellay, a cardinal's hat would have been his
reward from the pope, while Henry would have
conferred on him large gifts or preferments.
All these high hopes of the French triumvirate were
nearly blighted at the beginning. Du Bellay fell
seriously ill on the road, suffering from such violent
rheumatism that he could not bear even to be
carried in a litter. But the ardent desire to try his
abilities at the papal court overcame all obstacles.
As soon as he recovered a little he had himself
carried in a chair, and although he suffered the
1 J. du Bellay and C. de Denonville to Francis I., Februarys,
1534, loc. cit. : " Aujourdhuy nous susmes entrez sur le moyen
des deleguez en quoy a este garde lordre quil vous avoit pleu
recorder a moy de Paris allant a la messe a pied pappe . . ."
and J. du Bellay to Castillon, February 22, 1534, Paris, Bibl.
Nat. MSS. Francais, vol. 5499, fols. 191-6.
T 2
276 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vm. severest pains, he was able to reach Eome on the 2nd
February of February.1
Du Bellay According to the plan laid down at Pied de Pappe,
at Rome. ^ bisn0p spoke at first only of the dangers which
would befall Christendom if Henry were definitely
February alienated from Rome. When, on the 6th, he was
admitted before the consistory, he explained the pro-
posed confederation of protestant states, carefully
refraining from all reference to the fact that Henry's
plan would be resolutely opposed by Francis, and
that it had but little chance of success. Du Bellay
% even magnified the danger. Heresy, he said, would
spread everywhere ; not only England but many other
realms might be lost ; nay, even Rome, he hinted,
might no longer be safe. He wished to terrify the
cardinals into conceding all he asked for.2
In private conversation he was as violent as possible.
By order of Cyfuentes, Dr. Ortiz went to see him at
1 J. du Bellay to Castillon, February 8, 1534, Paris, Bibl. Nat.
MSS. Frangais, vol. 5499, fol. 191 : "Monsieur. J'ay tant faict
avec layde de dieu que je suis icy et afin que vous ne pensiez que
ce ayt este sans peyne jen ay este jusqua ne pouvoir endurer que
homme me portassent en une chaire. Pour le mieux jen eschaperay
pour uDg peu de sciatique, ce ne sera pas grand chose au mestier
que je meyne ; " and Cyfuentes to Charles V., February 14, 1534
British Museum, Add. MSS. 28,586, fol. 129.
2 Cyfuentes to Charles V., February 14, 1534, loc. cit. Dr.
Ortiz to Charles V., February 14, 1534, British Museum, Add.
MSS. vol. 28,586, fol. 125 ; and J. du Bellay and C. de Denon-
ville to Francis I., February 8, 1534, loc. cit. : " II " (the Pope)
"a este dopinion que nous trouvissions au consistoire pour y faire
entendre ce que luy avions diets touchant les inconvenients qui
estoient prests de soubsvenir en la Chrestienete et mesmement
au saint siege, aposant que si incontinent il ny estoit donne ordre.
Ce qui a este faict. ..."
ANNE BOLEYN. 277
the house of the resident French ambassador, the CHAP.VIII.
Bishop of Macon. Ortiz made inquiries as to the " Which
health of the Queen of England. « Which queen ? " queenf"
said the bishop. " The true and rightful queen," the
Spaniard replied, rather annoyed by the question.
" Queen Anne is well and triumphant," was du Bellay's
answer ; to which Ortiz responded somewhat hotly
that the bishop well knew that he was speaking not
of Anne, but of Queen Catherine. " Four days before
I left she was very ill," du Bellay then said, but Ortiz
would not believe it, for Chapuis had said nothing
about Catherine being ill, and indeed it was perfectly
untrue. The doctor now began to blame Cranmer for
Jiis contempt of the Holy See. " Cranmer," du Bellay
sharply replied, " is held by the English to be a very
saint. The English care nothing for papal censures
and briefs ; they have taken a lesson from the
Flemish, who have torn down the papal briefs from
the church doors." The conversation continued in
this strain, du Bellay evidently trying to bully the
Spaniard and to frighten the advocates of Catherine.1
But du Bellay was not acquainted either with the
character of the papal court or with that of the pope and the
himself. He thought Clement a weak coward of no
great talent, whom he, du Bellay, might easily over-
reach. " Le bonhomme," he called him at this time.
A year later he spoke of Clement as the old fox, and
mentioned his cleverness with a certain awe. The
experience of two months had taught him that
Clement VII. was more than a match for him.
1 Dr. Ortiz to Charles V., February 13, 1534, British Museum,
Add. MSS. 28,586, fol. 125.
278 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vni. With the papal court du Bellay was not on good
DuBellay terms. When he drew a fearful picture of the
^aal expected schism, the cardinals were unanimous in
court, deploring it deeply, but equally unanimous in
considering the matter past remedy.1 The other
courtiers were either openly hostile or coldly distant ;
and the few pensioners of Henry spoke in a de-
sponding tone.2 But du Bellay did not lose heart ;
relying on his influence with the pope, and on the
brilliant advantages he was charged to offer, he
believed failure to be impossible. It seemed to him,
indeed, that matters had already taken a favourable
turn, and that the pope was becoming more and more
inclined to grant all that was wanted.3 Concession
after concession was made by Clement VII.
1 J. du Bellay and C. de Denonville to Francis I., February 8,
1534, loc. cit. : "Et ont este trouvees les advertissements et
remonstrances f aictes ladessus sy bonnes que toute la compaignye
sen sent merveilleusement obligee et tenue a vous. Mais quand
se vient aux remedes et expediens la plus grande partye sy
trouvent si empeschez que qui ne leur tiendroit la bride bien
royde ilz auroient bientost faict ung mauvais sault."
2 G. Ghinucci to Andrea Ghinucci, February 9, 1534, British
Museum, Cotton MSS. Yitellius, B. xiv. fol. 116 ; and G. Gianetto
to Sir John Wallop, February 14, 1534, ibid., Yitellius, B. xiv.
fol. 118.
3 J. du Bellay and C. de Denonville to Francis I., February 8,
1534, loc. cit. : " Nous ne voyons que de la se puisse rien esperer
de bon ; et si riens sy peult faire il faudra que ce soit nostre
Sainct Pere qui le face secretement et a part a quoy nous taschons
par tous moyens de le persuader." J. du Bellay to A. de Mont-
morency, February 8, 1534, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Frangais, vol.
5499, fols. 1896 : " Et ma faict et faict journellement pour respect
du Roy plus de recueil que je ne merite et suys bien abuze ou il
a grant envye en tant que touche le diet Sieur de bien faire."
ANNE BOLEYN. 279
But the pope was quietly outwitting the overbearing CHAP.TIII.
Frenchman. He had not forgotten the insult offered Clement's
to him at Marseilles ; and, although he had no wish ^° ™^'
to displease Francis, he was determined not to in-
terfere any longer between Henry and the due course
of law. Immediately after Bonner had read the November,
appeal to him, he had tried to bring about an alliance
between the emperor and the king of France for the
destruction of Henry. He had not been able to over-
come the mutual distrust of the rival monarchs, but
he had not given up his purpose. Two days after December,
his return from Marseilles, he had been waited upon
by Count Cyfuentes ; and Clement, who had always
seemed to shun a conversation about the divorce, at
once eagerly asked the ambassador what was to be
done in the matrimonial cause of England. Cyfuentes
was rather taken aback ; he said Capisucchi, the
auditor who had charge of the matter, had not yet
arrived, so that no steps had been taken. " Never
mind," the pope exclaimed, " Simonetta may report
on the matter : I want the case to be concluded."
Cyfuentes was so astonished by this eagerness of the
pope that he suspected some trick was being played
upon him, and resolved to proceed with the greatest
caution.1
But the Spaniard had soon to change his mind.
The pope was in earnest, and pressed the matter
on with all his might. In consistory some of the
cardinals asked who would execute the sentence if it
1 Cyfuentes to Charles V., December 13, 1533, British Museum,
Add. MSS., 28,586, fol. 70.
280 ANNE BOLEYN.
HA^JIIL were against Henry? The emperor, Clement declared }
had bound himself to do so in person.1 In reality
the pope had found it impossible to induce Charles V.
to make any promise of the kind ; but the statement
had its effect, and, the pope being so zealous, every
effort was made to satisfy him. Simonetta worked
with a will, and when du Bellay arrived the report
was ready to be submitted to the cardinals. That the
sacred college might be in a position to judge of the
facts of the case, an abstract of the depositions was
embodied in the report, together with a number of
queries and doubts respecting the legal questions
involved, on which the consistory was to decide.2
A few days after his arrival and his reception by
the cardinals, du Bellay had a private audience of the
pope, and spoke to him about remitting the cause to
delegates. Clement did not absolutely refuse — nay,
he showed himself well inclined — but he could not
decide at once. He must have time to consider ; for
what would the emperor say ? Du Bellay watched
him with intense delight. If the pope was already
so favourable, it seemed pretty certain that he would
give up everything after hearing of the great match
Du ? for his nephew. On the 8th du Bellay wrote to
letters. Francis, Montmorency, and Castillon, giving an ac-
count of what he had done. The two former he
asked to make preparations for the mock trial at
Cambray. Cardinal du Prat and Cardinal Qaddi had
1 Cyfuentes to Charles V., January 23, 1534, British Museum,
Add. MSS., vol. 28,586, fol. 117.
2 Dr. Ortiz to Charles V., February 25, 1534, British Museum,
Add. MSS. vol. 28,586, fol. 124.
ANNE BOLEYN. 281
been proposed to the pope as judges, and they ought, CHAP.VIII.
the bishop wrote, to hold themselves in readiness to
leave at a moment's notice for Cambray, for quick-
ness and secrecy were all important.1 To Castillon,
du Bellay presented everything in the most favour-
able light, hoping that Henry might be persuaded to
grant a prolongation of the term which had been
accorded. Castillon was directed to advise that an
excusator should be ready to leave for Eome, there to
remain hidden at the English hospital until du Bellay
should want him.2
As these letters were despatched by a commercial
courier, and as the passage of the mountains was still
very difficult, they took more than a fortnight to reach
Chantilly, where Francis had by this time arrived.
Du Bellay's letter, and instructions to follow the
bishop's advice, were immediately sent to Castillon,
who received them at London on the 2nd of March.3
Although the term granted by Henry was long
past, the moment was not unfavourable for the re-
quests Castillon had to make. Notwithstanding 1534.
1 J. du Bellay to Francis I., February 8, 1534, loc. cit. :
" Aussy nous semble que actendant lautre despeche sera bon de
faire tenir bien secretement prestz pour leur voyage Messieurs le
legat et de Guadis qui ont estez nommez a nostre diet Sainct
Pere suyvant ce quil Yous avoit pleu les me proposer, car sil se
peult riens obtenir, il fauldra quilz usent de telle diligence que
les choses soyent faictes devant quesventees."
2 J. du Bellay to Castillon, February 8, 1534, loc. cit. :
" Aussy vour prye donner ordre que lexcusateur se tienne secre-
temment tout prest pour venir a Ihospital de Rome quand je vous
envoyeray mes memoires qui sera pour la premiere depesche."
3 Castillon to A. de Montmorency, March 6, 1534, Paris,
Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis, vol. 33, fol. 46.
282 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP.VIII. Cromwell's attempt to terrify the opposition, the
bills of the government had not been so well re-
ceived as had been expected. Great caution had
January been employed. On the 31st of January the lords
had been called to the star chamber, and the treaty
of alliance concluded in 1532 with France had been
laid before them. They were made to believe that,
whatever they might assent to, England would not
be attacked by the emperor. Their fears in this
respect being removed, a bill was brought in on the
February nth of February, settling a dowry on Catherine as
Princess Dowager of Wales. This of course implied
that her marriage with Henry was void, and the lords,
by accepting it, would admit the fact. There was
some opposition, and although most of the friends of
Catherine and Mary had been excused from appearing,
and the bishops, as usual, had to vote for the court,
the bill did not pass for ten days. When it was
disposed of, the government at once introduced the
bill of attainder against Elizabeth Barton, John Fisher,
Bishop of Kochester, Sir Thomas More, and others
her aiders and abettors. But here the lords proved
more difficult to manage. The bill was read a second
February time on the 26th of February, but the opposition
26> i*'34. prove(l so strong that it had to be abandoned for a
while.1 In the Lower House, too, there had been a
struggle. The bill about Catherine's dowry had been
obstinately resisted ; and one argument urged against
it the government could not disregard. Henry VII.
had pledged the whole of the goods of his subjects for
the fulfilment of the treaty of the 23rd of June, 1503,
1 Journals of the House of Lords, vol. i,
ANNE BOLEYN. 283
and for the payment of her revenues to Catherine ; CHAP.VIII.
and the members for London now pointed out that if
the bill passed Charles would have a perfect right to
seize their property in Spain and Flanders. The
danger, they said, was great, for if they could not
trade in safety with Spain and Flanders English
commerce would be ruined. Sharp debates took
place and the bill did not pass.1
Nor had the king better reason to be pleased with Popular
the temper of the people than with that of parlia- disc(mtent-
ment. With the exception of a very few fanatics and
some of Anne's creatures and dependents, every-
body in England looked forward to a separation from
Eome with grave alarm. Henry was well aware of
this, and had he had any doubts they would have
been dispelled on Ash Wednesday. On that day February
the clergyman appointed to preach before the king 18> 1534*
maintained in his sermon that the authority of the
pope was the highest on earth. If he abused his
power he was to be judged by a general council, but
not otherwise. Moreover, saints ought to be honoured,
and pilgrimage was acceptable to G-od and profitable
to man's soul. Henry was of course displeased, and
the courtiers cried out that the preacher had turned
papist. But the king knew that what Hugh Latimer
had the courage to tell him to his face the immense
majority of his subjects secretly believed.2
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., March 7, 1534, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 229, i. fol. 54.
- to Mr. Fowler, London, February 20, (dated 26th Henry
VIII., but clearly written in spring, 1534), British Museum,
Cotton MSS. Vitellius, B. xiv. fol. 119.
284 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. viii. The king was also vexed by Mary's steadfast
Anne assertion of her rights. Threats having failed to
to Subdue make any impression on her, Anne determined that
Mary- she herself would try what could be done by soft and
February, gentle means. At the end of February, she started
for Hatfield ; and when she arrived, she sent a
message to the princess to come and salute her as
the queen she was. If Mary would do so she would
not only be well received, but would regain the good
will of her father. Anne would intercede with the
king on her behalf, and secure for her kinder treat-
ment and a more brilliant position than she had
enjoyed at any time of her life. But Mary was
obdurate. She knew no queen in England, she said,
except her mother ; but she would be much obliged
if the Lady Anne Boleyn would intercede with
the king in her favour. Anne sent a fresh
message with more tempting offers, but was again
repulsed ; whereupon she threatened to take vengeance
on the obstinate girl who dared to withstand her
will, swearing that she would break the haughtiness
of this horrid Spanish blood.1
But all this only made the situation more com-
plicated. Henry began to feel perplexed, and to
throw on Anne the responsibility for his troubles.
A possession of eighteen months had cooled his
ardour ; her great fault in having given birth to a
daughter had not been forgiven ; and her violent
temper and the contemptuous manner in which she
1 E Chapuis to Charles V., March 7, 1534, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 229, i. fol. 54.
ANNE BOLEYN. 285
often treated the king wounded his vanity.1 If his CHAP.VIII.
difficulties became too great, he might have to con-
sider the expediency of sacrificing her. In the mean-
time, however, he had to think of his foreign policy ;
and what with the resistance to his schemes in
Parliament, the discontent throughout the country,
and the enmity of the emperor, he felt very strongly
that he could not risk a rupture with Francis.
Such was the state of mind in which Castillon Castillon
found the king, when, after deciphering du Bellay's proposals
letter, he was received in private audience. He had to llenry.
Jj^CLTClt 4
no difficulty in obtaining from Henry the fairest 1534. '
assurances of good will. Henry spoke as if he were
quite ready to do all that could be desired. But he
gave no conclusive answer ; he wanted first to consult
his council.
The man who had most influence over Henry was
certainly Cromwell. In the preceding autumn, as we
have seen, he was not very unwilling to abandon
Anne ; but since that time he had gone too far in
the other direction to be able to veer round with
safety. He had of course excited the hostility of all
those whom he had terrified into submission The
clergy were against him, the nobles hated him ; and if
his policy were changed, he would probably lose his
place, and perhaps his life. For the present, therefore,
1 E. Chapuis to Charles V., January 10, 1534, Vienna
Archives, P.O. 229, i. fol. 4 : " Mais ou la dame veult quelque chose
yl ny a personne qui ose ne puisse contredire, ny le Roy mesmes
que luy est comme Ion diet incrediblement subject pour ce que
quand il ne veult faire ce quelle veult elle faict et fainct la
forcenee ainsy que Ion ma adverty."
286 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP.VIIT. he remained faithful to Anne, and so did Cranmer,
Audeley, and the rest of the reformers. They repre-
sented to Henry the danger of departing from the
principles he had professed ; they assured him that
they would ultimately carry all his measures ; and
they warned him of the duplicity of the pope. Henry
listened to them, and became once more firm in his
Castuion purpose. The following day he sent for Castillon,
Council whom he asked to repeat his message before the
•^1534 5' council. They heard it with frowning countenances,
and most of them declared that the king could not
again put himself in subjection.1
The ambassador tried to convince them that the
course he proposed was the best for the king, for Anne,
and for Elizabeth. The king ought to do all in his
power to obtain a papal declaration that his marriage
with Catherine was of no force, and that his marriage
with Anne was good and lawful. The position of
Anne and the succession to the crown would thus be
assured, for all the arguments of Henry's adversaries
were based on the power of the pope to dispense and
on the sentence of the llth of July. Besides, the
friendship of the pope would enable Henry to defeat
the intrigues of the emperor. The king ought to
1 Castillon to A. de Montmorency, March 6, 1534, loc. cit. :
" Le lendemain que jeuz adverty ce Roy de lesperance en quoy me
mectoit Monsr de Paris il menvoya querir et me prya luy reciter
de nouveau devant son conseil ce que luy avoys le jour davant
diet de par Monsr de Paris et aprez que leur eu compte a veoir
leur contenances la pluspart deulx ny trouvoit poinct de fonde-
ment et disoient que le Roy navoit que faire de se mectre en telle
subjection. Je trouvay aussi le Roy tout refroidy des propoz
qui mavoit tenuz le jour de davant."
ANNE BOLEYN. 287
prefer this way, which was quite safe, to that which CHAP.VIII.
he was now pursuing and which was full of peril.1
But Castillon's eloquence was thrown away ; the
councillors remained decidedly hostile to his proposals.
When the council broke up, the ambassador had begun
to grow angry and to speak of ingratitude towards
the king his master.2
Henry's confidence seems to have been somewhat Hemtfs
shaken by Castillon's arguments. He took the am- interview
bassador into a garden, and, having made him ™^77,
Castitton.
promise secrecy, undertook to extend still further
1 Castillon to A. de Montmorency, March 6, 1534, loc. cit. :
"A Iheure je les priay de mescouter et leur dis tout ce que
je pensoys que pouvoit esmouvoir se Roy non seullement de
prandre par les mains de nostre Sainct Pere la declaracion de
son premier mariaige estre nulle et celuy ci bon, mais que daven-
taige par tous les moye'ns quon pourroit pencer il devoit chercher
paix et amytie avec luy. Et quant au premier que me sembloit
ny en avoir point de meilleur, pour mettre en seurete la Royne
et apres oster toutes contradicions que pourroient cy apres sur-
venir que les enfans de ce mariaige ne feussent vraiz heritiers,
que si par lauctorite de nostre dit Saint pere les choses estoient
f aictes et conf ermees. Et que tout se que ses malveillans scavent
mettre en avant nest fonde que la dessuz. Quant au second quil
ne scaurroit mieulx rompre le dessain de lempereur qui parle si
hault et fait des menees que jentens ne sont a laventaige de se ^
roy que avec lamytie du Roy mon maistre prandre celle de nostre
Sainct pere. Car lempereur en sera dautant afoybly et luy plus
fortifie qui sont toutes choses premierement pour layse et repoz
du Roy secondement au temps a venir pour la seurete de la suc-
cession de se Royaume aux enfans qui viendroient de se dit
mariaige."
2 Ibid. : "Oultre quon auroit bien peu de regard au Roy son
bon frere, qui a tant fait et travaille pour cest affaire, que, si le
peut mettre a bonne fin, toutes ses paines et employs reveinsent
a rien."
288 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. VIIL the term that had been granted to du Bellay. He
would make no haste to have anything published
against the authority of the Holy See ; only the
money which had formerly gone to Eome should go
no longer. Du Bellay had written of a certain
memorial ; and when it arrived, the excusator, as had
been suggested, should be despatched to Eome.1
Castillon was delighted to hear all this. He did
not see that Henry bound himself to nothing, but
only provided a way of escape in the event of his
circumstances becoming desperate. To Castillon,
Henry's offers seemed to show real good will, and
on the 6th he wrote, full of joy, to Montmorency,
describing all that had happened. He enclosed in
Du cipher a letter which he asked to be forwarded to
Bellas du Bellay.
T/rom Without waiting for any reply, du Bellay had
Rome. continued his labours at Eome. On the 22nd of
February
22, 1534. February he sent off the memorial alluded to in
1 Castillon to A. de Montmorency, March 6, 1534, loc. cit. :
11 Et apres Monseigneur quelques autres petits propoz le Roy
me mena en ung jar din ou il macorda, me priant toutes foys
que je le tinse secret car je pense quil crainderoit bien quon
pensast que sy soubdainement il se fut condescendu a telle re-
queste, qui ne se hasteroit de riens faire publier contre lobeissance
du pape et quil atendroit comme se porteroient plus avant les
choses du coste de Rome ; bien quil reformera que si grand somme
de deniers qui souloit aller au pape nyroit plus. Daventaige que
me fait plus pencer que se veult remectre au bon train, cest que
quand Monsr de Paris envoyra les memoires qui mescript quil
doit envoyer, il pourveoira a lexcusateur pour lenvoyer a Rome
ainsi que Monsieur de Paris escript. Conclusion : il me semble
que combien que le feu soit partout se royaume contre nostre
Saint Pere que par le moyon du Roy et linclinacion que ce Roy
y a la pluspart des affaires de nostre dit Sainct pere sy rabilera."
ANNE BOLEYN. 289
former despatches, containing the concessions he had CHAP.YIIT.
been able to obtain from the pope, and indicating the
points about which there was no difference of opinion.
I have not been able to find either this memorial or
the letter to Francis I. which accompanied it. But
a letter of the same date to Castillon, a postscript of
the 24th of February to Francis, and Castillon's reply
to the whole, are extant. From these papers may be
gathered how far Clement had allowed himself to be
drawn.
Du Bellay's letter to Castillon is hastily written,
and its style does little honour to a man who made
some pretensions to literary skill. It shows that he
was eager and violent, wholly unjust to his opponents,
careless of the rights of Catherine, taken up with
but one thing — the negotiation he had in hand. He
began by saying that he had to contend with great
difficulties. The pope was terribly afraid of the
emperor, and most of the cardinals were crying out,
crucifige, " like little devils." If Henry separated
from Kome, Francis could not remain the friend both
of king and pope, and the friendship of the latter
it would be impossible to jeopardise, because of the
affairs of Italy. The memorial was a little hard, and
ought not be shown to Henry ; he should merely be
told that the pope was ready to send a cardinal and
two assessors to hear the case at Cambray. They
would not, however, according to present arrange-
ments, receive powers to give sentence. To Cambray
Henry might, at the request of Francis, send an
excusator. At Rome, meanwhile, all the proceedings
against Henry would remain in suspense, and the
VOL. i. u
290 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vm. emperor would be very angry. Du Bellay would
continue his exertions, and hoped to obtain security
that sentence should be given in favour of Henry, in
which case the delegates at Cambray might receive
powers to pronounce it. If the pope were no longer
in fear of the emperor, and, above all, if the marriage
of Duke Alexander with Mary were assented to by
Henry, everything would be sure to go smoothly.1
1 J. du Bellay to Castillon, February 22, 1534, Paris, Bibl.
Nat. MSS. Frangais, vol. 5,499, fols. 191-6 : " Je laisse le pape
en une perplexite si grande que ceulx qui le cognoissent disent
ne lavoir jamais veu en plus grande . . . voyant de combien
cela luy importe. Mais il est icy si captif de lempereur et si fort
menasse quil nose luy desobeyr en rien et voila toute la maladie ;
joinct que la pluspart de ces cardinaux cryent sur luy en ceste
matiere crucifige comme beaulx petits diables "...." pour
parler a vous a estomae ouvert je suis seur que quand le diet
sieur aurafaict ce quil veult faire il sen trouvera bien empesche "
. . . "et ung aultre grand inconvenient sen en suit que je ne
voy point comment il sera possible que le Roy puisse demourer
amy de tous deux et de cestuy cy ne peult il departir pour les
practiques ditalye " . . . " quant au memoir e que j envoy e de ce
que le pape ma consenty on na que faire de le luy communicquer
car il est ung peu dur ; seulement luy fault dire que le pape est
content denvoyer ung Cardinal a Cambray avec deux adjoinctz
qui cognoistront de la matiere jusques a la dimnitive exclusive-
inent. II peult respondre sil luy plaist que pour complaire au
Roy son frere il est content de veoir que ces deleguez vouldront
dire " . . . " et demoureront icy toutes choses au croc dont
lempereur enragera tout vif. Je veux que cependant quilz
yront dicy a Cambray on regarde si on se pourra asseurer quilz
donnent la sentence comme nous la demandons et lors nous
poursuyurons de leur faire amplier leur pouvoir jusques a la
dimnitive inclusivement. Le vray moyen de sasseurer sera que
le pape se treuve plus en liberte de lempereur quil nest et surtout
qui pourroit asseurer entre eulx le mariage du due Alexandre a
la fille du Roy ce seroit la conclusion des escriptures ce costeicy."
ANNE BOLEYN. 291
Du Bellay once more assured Castillon of the CHAP.VIII.
goodwill Clement bore to Henry, but the poor man
was daily threatened by the imperialists for what he
had already done in favour of the king. It Henry
would send the excusator du Bellay was willing to
pledge his head that he would succeed. Castillon
was to put the king on his guard against false friends,
and to use every means to convince him that the
course proposed by du Bellay was the safest and best
for him. " Use all the herbs of sorcery," the bishop
wrote; "until I have your reply the devils may rage,
but they will obtain nothing against us here at
Kome." 1
Such were the principal contents of this strange
letter. At first sight one naturally suspects that it
was composed in order to be shown to Henry, and
that the bishop gave a more favourable account of
1 J. du Bellay to Castillon, February 22, 1534, Paris, Bibl.
Nat. MSS. Frangais, vol. 5,499, fols. 191-6 : "Le pape na moings
denvye dapprouver le mariage du Roy que luy mesmes " . . . " Je
ne suys pas trop papiste mais par ma foy il me faict grand pitie
de le veoir en la peyne ou il est. Seulement pour se formalister
pour le Roy dangleterre comme il faict, ouvertement et en beaux
plains consistoires il est menasse et non pas de poires cuictes"
. . . " sil men veult laisser faire je prens a ma charge sus mon
honneur de luy rendre son cas despeche " . . . " il naura quen-
voyer lexcusateur et quil me laisse faire le demourant. Si je ne
luy conduictz les choses a son appetit, ne intervenant rien de
nouveau; je me veulx rendre a luy quil me fasse trencher la
teste " . . . " et vous soubzvienne de celluy que nous presumions
vouloir sa ruyne. Je vous respondz quil est vray mais je scay a
qui je parle. Considerez tout cecy et aultant que Yous aymez
ce prince et que Yous scavez que je lay me mettez y toutes les
herbes de la Saint Jehan ; actendant vostre responce les diablcs
pourroient enrager quilz nobtiendront riens icy contre nous."
u 2
292 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP.VIII. things than he himself believed to be warranted.
Bat it is quite clear that the letter was meant to be
read by Castillon alone. The bishop several times
asserts that he speaks nothing but the truth, and
other letters show that he wrote to Francis very much
in the same strain. The letter must, therefore, be
taken as representing the real opinions and hopes of
du Bellay.
The letter arrived at Brie Comte Robert, near
Paris, early in March, and on the 5th it was sent to
Castillon with further instructions to do all he could
to assist du Bellay and to bring Henry to accept an
arrangement.1 On its way to London it was crossed
by the courier who carried Castillon's letter of the
Mont- 6th. This letter reached Paris on the 12th, at the
congratu- ver7 moment when Montmorency was writing a reply
latesdu to du Bellay's letter of the 24th of February,
March u, which he had just received. As the bishop's letter
34' confirmed the good news he had already sent, and
stated that he had obtained still further concessions
about details, Montmorency was highly pleased and
wrote to him in most eulogistic terms. Francis,
Montmorency said, was very much gratified by all
1 Castillon „ to Francis L, March 16, 1534, Paris, Bibl. Nat.
MSS. Fractals, vol. 5,499, fol. 197; and A. de Montmorency to
J. du Bellay, March 12, 1534, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuis,
vol. 265, fol. 230. Cipher, undeciphered : "Jay tousjours faict
envoy er en angleterre tout ce que Yous y avez escript et mesmes
le chiffre quavez adresse au sieur de Castillon duquel jay monstre
au Roy le double que Vous mavez envoy e que le diet seigneur a
trouve tres bon et a escript au diet Castillon par courrier que jay
depesche expres pour le pourter plus seurement quil eust a se
conduire envers le Eoy dangleterre selon cela"
ANNE BOLEYN. 293
that had. been achieved at Rome. There seemed to CHAP.VIII.
be every probability of success, which would be a
great boon to Christendom. Du Bellay ought not to
trouble himself about the opposition of the imperial-
ists, but should go on exactly as he had hitherto done.1
Montmorency had written so far when Castillon's
letter of the 6th of March arrived. His satisfaction
was increased by what the ambassador had to tell
him, and he added a few lines to his letter to du
Bellay to compliment him on the success he had had
with Henry, and to express a hope that, contrary to
the general expectation, a good result would be
obtained.2
But Montmorency was mistaken. Castillon had A forged
already begun to feel that Henry was not sincere.
1 A. de Montmorency to J. du Bellay, March 12, 1534, loc. cit. :
" Monsr jay receu toutes Yos lettres et veu celles quavez escriptes
au Roy qui a tousjours veu et entendu le tout par la ou il a
tresbien cogneu que navez rien oublie ni obmis a faire entendre
a nre St. pere de ce quil Yous avoit ordonne luy dire et quavez
pu penser estre pour servir en laffaire du Roy dangleterre duquel
il espere que moyennant la bonne conduicte du diet affaire que Yous
avez si bien commancee a dresser par vostre prudence sen rapportera
bonne issue qui luy seroit tel plaisir que povez penser. Yous
advisant que le diet Seigneur est merveilleusement content de
Vous et de la negociation que Vous avez faicte jusques icy par de la ;
de la ou il ne veult pas que bousgez encores, que premier ement il
ne le Vous mande. Et quant au doubte et souspecon de quoy ont
les imperiaulx de vostre allee et demeure vers nostre Saint pere
ne vous en soulciez autrement car le diet Seigneur vouldroit que
pour ung soupecon quilz en ont de Vous quilz en eussent quatre."
2 Ibid. : Jay eu tout a ceste heure responce de Castillon qui
Yous escript de la bonne volunte en laquelle Yous avez mis le
Roy dangleterre qui me faict esperer que vostre allee portera oultre
loppinion de beaulcoup de gens quelque belfruict pourla crestiente."
294 ANNE BOLEYN.
OHA.P.VIII. About the 10th of March the ambassador had re-
ceived du Bellay's letter of the 22nd of February,
and that of Montmorency of the 5th of March.1
Instead of showing du Bellay's letter to Henry, he
cleverly concocted another, in which all that was to
remain secret or that might wound the king's vanity
was carefully left out. This forged copy he took
to the king and palmed it off as the genuine letter
that du Bellay had written.2 But hopeful as the tone
of this paper was, Henry showed no great joy at it ;
his manner was not the same as it had been a week
before. The concessions he had already made he did
not withdraw, but he modified them in a way which
made them of little consequence. He said he was
ready to send an excusator, but without power to
appear in his name. Moreover, out of regard to
Francis, he promised that he would continue the
session of parliament until after Easter, which fell
on the 5th of April, and would delay publishing his
separation from Eome. But he peremptorily refused
to send a proctor to Cambray to represent him before
the delegates. If the pope was as friendly as du
Bellay and Castillon said, he ought, without any
further proceedings, to give the desired sentence. If
he did this, Henry would be prepared to acknowledge
the papal jurisdiction 3
1 Castillon to Francis I., March 16, 1534, Paris, Bib. Nat.
MSS. Frangais, vol. 5,499, fol. 197.
2 Forged letter, dated February 21, 1534, K.O. Box Q, No. 160 ;
and Gairdner, Letters and Papers, vol. vii. p. 85.
3 Castillon to Francis I., March 16, 1534, loc. cit. : "Main-
tenant par vostre moyen ce Boy est contant denvoyer ung ex-
ANNE BOLEYN. 295
That is to say, Henry refused to plead, but asked CHAP.VIH.
that sentence should be given in his favour. This
he considered just and reasonable, and he supposed
that he was making a concession by waiting some-
what longer for the fulfilment of his preposterous
demand. Castillon was unable to shake his resolution.
A few days later, on the 16th of March, the French The
ambassador again asked for an audience, and was ^^riage
admitted into the royal presence. On the preceding °f Mary
day he had received letters from Francis, in which Alexander,
he was instructed to suggest to Henry the proposed 1534 6)
marriage of Duke Alexander with Mary. At the
same time he had received a copy of the ciphered
passage of a letter of du Bellay and the Bishop of
Macon of the 24th of February. This passage con-
tained a promise that, if the proposal to hear the
case at Cambray were agreed to, the pope would
remove in the meantime the censures and ex-
excommunication under which Henry had fallen
cusateur ne faisant pas semblant de luy envoyer expressemenfc
pour la peur quil a destre lie de se submectre a la jurisdiction de
Rome car il sembleroit par la quil voulust renoncer a celle de
Monsieur de Canturbery qui est tout leur fondement car par la
leur mariage a este faict. Et encores en vostre faveur veult con-
tinuer son parlement jusques apres pasques pour differer de faire
publyer la dicte separation. Et pense beaucoup avoir accorde
pour lamour de Yous. Pourtant Sire affin que entendiez ce
poinct le Roy vostre frere ma diet et declaire quil nenvoyra
poinct de procuration devers les deleguez ; mais bien, si sans
forme de proces le pape luy veult accorder son affaire comme il
diet que justement ne luy peult reffuser, et quil luy monstre ceste
bonne volonte quon diet quil luy porte, il ne se separera point
de son obeissance et'differera comme il a accorde en faveur de
Yous jusques apres Pasques."
296 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vm. on account of the sentence of the llth of July,
1533.1
Henry did not take at all well the proposal that
Mary should marry Duke Alexander. It at once
aroused his suspicions and wounded his vanity, for
although he did everything he could to deprive Mary
of her rank, he did not like to see her despised. A
daughter of his, to his mind, was always a lady the
greatest kings ought to honour ; and to let her
become the wife of a Duke of Florence seemed to
him beneath his dignity. But when Castillon argued
that the scheme would make the pope his staunchest
friend, and that the emperor would be entirely check-
mated, Henry appeared to become less hostile and
said he would think about the matter. At Henry's
request, Castillon stayed for dinner ; and after dinner
he was called once more to the king, who had mean-
while conferred with some of his councillors, and
perhaps with Anne. The match was then positively
refused ; but Castillon was told that if Duke Alex-
ander wished to marry in England he might have
one of the king's nieces, Lady Margaret Douglas, or
Lady Mary Brandon.2
1 J. du Bellay and Denonville to Francis I., February 24, 1534,
Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Frangais, vol. 5,499, fol. 193.
2 Castillon to Francis I., March 16, 1534, loc. cit. : " II trouva
de plain sault ceste ouverture fort nouvelle et estrange. Et apres
quelques devises . . . il me prya de disner avec luy et que aprez
disner nous acheverions ce propoz. II alia en sa chambre et croys
quil en parla a deux ou troys de son conseil. Conclusion Sire,
apres disner il me feist responce que touchant sa fille Marie il
estoit delibere den faire pour toujours comme dune chose de rien
et que de celle la il nen falloit janiais parler. . . ."
ANNE BOLEYN. 297
Henry plainly expressed his suspicion that all these CHAP.VHI.
overtures were meant only to delay business, ac-
cording to the pope's habit. If he did not soon
perceive that the pope intended to act honestly, he
would go on with the anti-papal measures on which
he had determined. As to Cambray — delegates,
proxy, and pleading — he remained as obstinate as
ever. " Let the pope pronounce sentence in my
favour, and I will admit his authority," he said ;
" else, it shall not be admitted. " l
This stubbornness was due mainly to a change Henry en-
which had passed over the temper of parliament, ty the tone
Two days after Henry's conversation with Castillon °^^f a~
in the garden, the bill against Elizabeth Barton had March 6,
been submitted to the House of Lords. Dissatisfied
with the evidence against Sir Thomas More, the peers
asked that he should be brought before them in the
Star Chamber. The king was so enraged by what he
considered an arrogant demand that he spoke of
going down to the House himself, and the request
was refused. Nevertheless, the name of Sir Thomas
was struck out of the bill. With this victory the
lords remained content, and on the 12th of March March 12,
the measure was definitively adopted by the Upper
House.2
1 Castillon to Francis I., March 16, 1534, loc.cit.: "Mais
quon veuille ung peu dilligenter. Car il a tousjours opinion que
ce sont tons delaiz pour (comme il diet que nostre Sainct pere a
de coustume) de plus en plus prolonger son affaire et quil ne
laissera pour toutes ces ouvertures a poursuivir les choses de par
de ca comme il a ja commence si bientost il ne se apercoit que ses
menees soient sans dissimulation."
2 Journal of the House of Lords.
298 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vni. The concession made by Henry sufficed to break
up the compact force of the opposition, many of the
lords thinking that they had done enough in saving
More. On the same day that Barton was condemned,
a bill forbidding the payment of Peter's pence to
Eome came up from the Commons ; and it passed
without the slightest difficulty. It was read a third
time without alteration almost at the very hour when
March 16, Castillon was proposing Duke Alexander's marriage.1
This success gave Henry courage ; and as his spirits
rose, he became less willing to yield either to Francis
or to the Holy See.
Clement As' in England, so at Eome, the prospect seemed
ver7 ^ar^ ^or ^u Bellay. The bishop had begun to
doubt whether, after all, " le bonhorame " was a
perfectly appropriate name for Clement. To his
dismay he found out that the pope was better in-
formed than himself as to all that went on in
England.2 Through Cyfuentes and Ortiz, Clement
heard everything that was reported by Chapuis ; and
Sir John Wallop, Henry's ambassador in France, kept
up a secret correspondence with the Baron de Burgo,
late nuncio in England, and thus sent much intelli-
gence to the pope.3 Du Bellay became somewhat
34' alarmed, and wrote to Montmorency and to Castillon,
complaining of Henry's proceedings. Henry, he
1 Journal of the House of Lords.
2 J. du Bellay and Denonville to Francis I., March 15,
1534, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. JFrangais, vol. 5,499, fols.
193-6.
3 Cyfuentes to Charles V., January 23, 1534, British Museum,
Add. MSS. vol. 28,586, fol. 117.
ANNE BOLEYN. 299
said, was acting foolishly in irritating the pope • that CHAP.VIH.
was not the way to obtain concessions.1
During this time the legal proceedings at Kome The pro-
had made little progress ; and Clement, when speaking ^TMome
to du Bellay, took the credit to himself. But the
true reason was that the papers connected with the
suit had got into disorder ; legal forms had not been
observed ; and many little irregularities had to be
redressed. On the 27th of February the matter was February
brought for the first time before the consistory.2 27> 1534>
Early in March another consistory was held, and the March 9,
questions respecting the points of law were com-
municated to every cardinal to enable him to study
them for final judgment.3 The 23rd of March was
fixed by the pope as the day on which the cardinals
were to re-assemble to deliberate on the final sen-
tence. Cyfuentes could not believe that the pope
really meant to have the controversy settled at so
early a date ; he feared some new trick, and was more
alarmed than pleased.4 Du Bellay was more easily
1 J. du Bellay and Denonville to Francis I., March 15, 1534,
loc. cit. : " II est vray quil se trouve plus fasche de la matiere
quil nestoit au commencement pour veoir que de tant plus que
sa sainctete se meet en debvoir de bien faire plus ilz se mectent
de la a le vituperer par yronies et choses diffamatoires. . . II
seroit bien raisonnable que le Roy dangleterre se moderast ung
peu de son coste ..."
2 Dr. Ortiz to Charles V., February 15 and 25, 1534, British
Museum, Add. MSS. 28,586, fols. 125 and 142 ; Acts of the Con-
sistory at Rome, Gairdner, Letters and Papers, vol. vii. p. 632.
3 J. du Bellay and Denonville to Francis I., March 15, 1534,
loc. cit.
4 Cyfuentes to Charles V., February 10, 1534, British Museum,
Add. MSS. 28,586, fol. 156.
300 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. viii. satisfied. To him the pope represented the delay of
a fortnight as a mark of goodwill to Henry ; and
the bishop took it to be so ; he was still full of hope
and ardour. He had his laugh at the cardinals,
especially at Enkevoert and the Archbishop of Bari,
who, he said, were busy with their books and fully
determined to show the vastness of their learning.
But they would find these questions a hard nut to
crack.1
The 23rd of March was Monday of Passion Week?
and the last day before Easter on which a consistory
could conveniently be called, As du Bellay felt con-
fident that the matter could not be finished at a
single sitting, he was triumphant. It would stand
over till after Sunday quasimodo, the 12th of April ;
and by that time he hoped to have such a reply
from Henry as would induce the pope to ustop the
proceedings.2
1 J. du Bellay and Denonville to Francis I., March 15, 1534,
loc. cit. : " En tant Sire que touche la matiere du Roy dangleterre
les gens de lempereur ont faict extreme instance de faire pro-
ceder au principal tellement que desja y a este besougne par
deux consistoires et ont este baillez les doubtes a chascun des
cardinaulx afin quilz estudiassent dessuz pour mieulx selon droict
et raison en pouvoir opiner. Et de ceste heure sont tous ces
clercs voire jusques aux cardinaulx de Bar et Denquefort
empesche a remuer leurs livres estant chascun bien delibere de y
desployer le tresor de sa science."
2 Ibid. : *' Et levent les diets ministres de lempereur fort les
cornes davoir gaigne ceste partye suz le Roy dangleterre, mais
ilz ont la baye car on leur a bailie tel os a ronger que Vous
pouvez estre asseure que de qimsimodo ilz ny donneront coup qui
puisse porter dommaige au diet Sieur. II est vray quil estoit
besoin de y gaigner deux consistoires a compter jour pour jour et
pour ce faire nostre diet Sainct pere est alle par advis des
ANNE BOLEYN. 301
Both du Bellay and the Bishop of M&con asserted CHAP.VIII.
that they were unable to conceive how, in dealing with Confidence
the questions prepared, any cardinal could declare the Bellay
dispensation of Julius II. to have ever been valid. ^the^
* Bishop of
If judgment was to be given, the imperialists would Mdcon.
find themselves in great straits ; for, were all the
world hostile to Henry, it would be impossible for
him to lose his case.1
The two bishops were not, of course, aware of the
vote taken in July 1533 on the question of the
validity of the dispensation. Cardinal de Tournon
had been in Eome at that time, and had acceded to
the decision, which had been carried by an over-
whelming majority. But, as in duty bound, he had
kept the matter secret, and the only two sovereigns
who had heard of the vote were Charles V. and
Henry VIII. It was because Henry knew what had
medecins prendre lair ceste semaine a Ostie. Si durant tout ce
temps il vient responce du diet Roy dangleterre et quil accepte
ce qui luy a este envoye, lors on parlera autre langaige. ..."
1 J. du Bellay and Denonville to Francis I., March 15, 1534,
loc. cit. : " Quand bien . . . tout seroit alle en Angleterre les
piedz contre mont si ne voyons nous pas bien comment ilz peussent
donner sentence contre le diet Roy dangleterre au principal. Car
Sire sur les doubtes que leur a bailies nostre Sainct pere dont
nous Yous envoyons le double, il ny en a gueres, tant partiaulx
puissent ilz etre, qui osassent, en telle boutique quung consistoire,
maintenir la dispence avoir jamais este bonne. Parquoy Vous
pouvez Sire croire que quant on en viendroit jusques la il sen
trouveroit de bien empeschez. Qui nous faict derechef Yous dire
que ce sera ung grand malheur si le diet Roy dangleterre ne veult
entendre raison, veu que quant bien sa matiere se mectroit icy
suz le bureau et que tout le monde luy seroit contraire en cas
quil ne la peust gaigner a tout le moings ne la pourroit il
perdre."
302 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vm. happened that he declined to allow judgment to be
given at Kome, and distrusted du Bellay's fine
promises.1
Clement, never forgetting for a moment that the
question had been irrevocably decided, humoured
du Bellay by allowing him to raise all kinds of objec-
tions against the validity of the dispensation. The
Frenchman was soon to find that in this matter he
had been* duped, and even he might have forgiven
himself for being taken in by so clever a dissembler
as Clement VII. But when he wrote that Henry's
case was progressing favourably, that the suit could
not be lost, common sense ought to have taught him
better. Had nothing else put him on his guard, his
attention ought to have been arrested by the fact
that of the eight Frenchmen who then wore the red
hat not one had appeared. Bourbon, Lorraine,
Castelnau, du Prat, Tournon, Coligny, Le Veneur,
and Givry were absent when a question of the
greatest importance to their king was about to be
settled. To Cyfuentes and Ortiz their reasons were
well known. Had the French cardinals voted for
Henry, they would have acted against their con-
science ; had they voted in opposition to him, they
would have done violence to their political allegiance.2
Cardinal de Tournon had openly declared that such
was the true state of the case.3 Du Bellay over-
1 Dr. Ortiz to Charles V., March 4, 1534, British Museum,
Add. MSS. 28,586, fol. 148.
2 Dr. Ortiz to Charles V., March 24, 1534, British Museum,
Add. MSS. 28,586, fol. 191.
3 Dr. Ortiz to Charles V., September 9, 1533, British Museum,
Add. MSS. 28,586, fol. 1.
ANNE BOLEYN. 303
looked this grave symptom, and hoped where hope CHAP.VIII.
was folly.
On the 23rd of March, at ten o'clock in the Final
morning, the cardinals met, the doors were shut, and
the consistory began. Like du Bellay, most people
thought that the matter could not be decided at one
sitting, and few expected to hear that day of any.
thing of great importance.1 It was remarked, how-
ever, that the cardinals allowed their dinner hour to
pass without rising ; and they were generally so
punctual in this respect that curiosity began to be
manifested. As hour after hour went by, the excite-
ment increased ; imperialists and anti-imperialists
impatiently waited for news. The cardinals had
sat for nearly seven hours when, at five in the after-
noon, the doors opened and the reverend fathers
appeared. The next moment it was known that
sentence had been given.
At the beginning of the consistory, the cardinal-
protector of France, Trivultio, backed by Cardinal
Ridolfi, a personal enemy of Charles, and by Cardinal
Pisani, proposed that final judgment should not be
given at this sitting ; but after a sharp and lengthy
debate he was out- voted by a majority of nineteen
votes to three. The discussion of the main question
was now opened, and it quickly became clear that
Henry had not a chance of success. Trivultio still
did his best to prevent a final decision, but he had
to give way. The question was put, and judgment
was unanimously given in favour of the validity of
1 Cyfuentes to Charles Y., March 10, 1534, British Museum,
Add. MSS. 28,586, fol. 156.
304 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. vin. Catherine's marriage. Trivultio himself and his two
followers voted with the rest.1
Du Du Bellay was astounded by this result, and, when
perplexity. n^s anger nad. subsided, tried in vain to account for
it. By whom had he been betrayed ? Such had
been the cleverness of Clement that he was the only
person whom the indignant bishop did not suspect.
On the whole, du Bellay was disposed to think that
the sentence had been given with the consent of
Francis, that Cardinal Trivultio had had secret in-
structions. He knew no longer what to do, arid
decided to leave at once.2
"While he was preparing for his homeward journey,
March 28, a courier arrived on the 28th of March from Paris,
1534' with Montmorency's and Castillon's letters.3 From
the former du Bellay learned that his conduct had
been approved of, from the latter that Henry had
granted a prolongation of the term first accorded,
and that he was ready to send the excusator. Small
as these concessions were, the bishop hoped that if
they were judiciously used it might still be possible
1 J. du Bellay and C. de Denonville to Francis I., March 23
and 24, 1534, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Francais, vol. 5,499, fols.
1996 and 201; Cyfuentes to Charles V., March 24, 1534,
British Museum, A£d. MSS. 28,586, fol. 197; Dr. Ortiz to
Charles V., March $£ 1534, British Museum, Add. MSS. 28,586,
fol. 191 ; Dr. Ortiz to Catherine of Aragon, March 24, 1534,
British Museum, Add. MSS. 28,586, fol. 195, etc.
2 J. du Bellay and C. de Denonville to Francis L, March 23,
1534, loc. cit.
3 Cardinal of Jaen to F. de los Covos, March 30, 1534,
British Museum, Add. MSS. vol. 28,586, fol. 200 ; Cyfuentes to
Charles Y., April 2, 1534, British Museum, Add. MSS. 28,586,
fol. 213.
ANNE BOLEYN. 305
to induce the cardinals to revoke or modify the CHAP.VIH.
sentence, or, at least, to postpone its publication.1
That same day, while making his farewell visits, DuBeilay
du Bellay, chanced to meet Count Cyfuentes at the Cyfuentes.
house of one of the cardinals. As the bishop's be-
haviour had thrown some doubts on his orthodoxy,
he was anxious to justify himself. He assured the
Spaniard that he had not come to Eome to contradict
the good right of Catherine or to act in favour of
Henry. He had neither a personal wish nor a
commission from Francis to do so. He had simply
wanted to point out that the pope would run the
risk of losing the obedience of England by giving
sentence against the king. Cyfuentes, seeing du
Bellay so humble, answered politely ; whereupon the
latter went on to deplore the sentence that had been
given. Only four hours ago, he had received a letter
from Henry VIII. telling him to believe all that Untrue
Castillon would write; and the substance of Cas-
tillon's letter was that Henry would acknowledge
the jurisdiction of the pope if the question of the
divorce were dealt with at Cambray. Cyfuentes
coldly answered that these were but tricks to delay
the publication of the sentence. If du Bellay, even
when in England, had been unable to obtain any
concessions whatever, how had it come to pass that
by a simple letter he had made Henry accept a
proposal that had always been obstinately rejected ?
Du Bellay knew not what to answer ; he feebly said
the Holy Spirit had enlightened Henry. "Well,"
1 J. du Bellay and C. de Denonville to Francis I., April 1,
1534, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Francais, vol. 5,499, fol. 201.
VOL. I. X
308 ANNE BOLEYN.
CHAP. viii. Cyfuentes replied, " in that case the Holy Spirit will
move him still further to submit to the sentence."
Cyfuentes added a little anecdote about the Spanish
cardinal of Santa Croce, who, when leaving the con-
sistory, had remarked to his brethren that, now
sentence had been given, the French agents would
be sure to say they had received power from Henry
to effect a compromise. This feeling being pretty
general, du Bellay's account was everywhere received
with suspicion.1
The statement made by the Bishop of Paris to
Cyfuentes was certainly untrue. Castillon wrote
on the 6th and on the 16th of March to Francis,
Montmorency, and du Bellay. Of these letters two
only have been found, the one of the 6th to
Montmorency, and the one of the 16th to Francis.
From the latter it appears that between the two dates
Castillon did not write either to Paris or to Eome.
As in the two letters preserved, he gives a very full
account of the concessions Henry showed himself
willing to offer, we may safely assert that his letters
to du Bellay cannot have contained any other matter
of importance. The letter which the bishop received
on the 28th was probably that of the 6th, which, as
we know from Montmorency, arrived at Paris on the
12th. The letter of the 16th could scarcely have
reached Eome on the 28th, for the roads were very
bad and the mountains covered with melting snow.
Now, in the letter of the 6th to Montmorency there
is not the faintest indication that Henry was as
1 Cyfuentes to Charles V., April 2, 1534, British Museum,
Add. MSB. 28,586, fol. 213.
ANNE BOLEYN. 307
compliant as du Bellay pretended. He is represented CHAP.VHI.
as simply saying that he will wait before publishing
the acts against the pope, and that he will send the
excusator when required, although without giving
him any power whatever. From Castillon's letter of
the 16th to Francis himself it is clear that Henry
never went further, and that he would not hear of
having the cause tried at Cambray. Du Bellay's
statement had not a shadow of foundation.
But even if it had been true, it would have The
mattered little. Long before the letter of Castillon
reached Rome, Henry had decided on the course he
would adopt. On the 20th of March the government March 20,
submitted to the House of Lords a bill ratifying the
marriage of Henry with Anne Boleyn and settling
the succession to the crown on Elizabeth. On Satur-
day, the 21st, it was read a second, on Monday, the
23rd, a third time.1 As the whole question pending March 23
at Rome was settled by this bill, it would have been
foolish to pretend that Henry was still ready to admit
the jurisdiction of the pope.
It was from courtesy to Francis that Drs. Carne
and Revett were sent about this time as excusators to
Rome. They had no proxy from Henry, and their
mission was a mere farce.2
That Henry was not sincere even in the few con-
cessions he had made appears both from his deeds
and from his words. He had told Castillon that
1 Journal of House of Lords.
2 E. Chapuis to Charles V., March 25, 1534, Vienna Archives,
P.O. 229, i. fol. 67 ; and Castillon to Francis I., March 16, 1534,
Paris, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Francais, 5,499, fol. 197.
308 ANNE BOLEYN.
parliament would sit until after Easter. Six days
March so, before Easter it was prorogued, and the royal assent
34' was given to all the bills that had been passed, with
the exception of that relating to Peter' s-pence. The
schism was accomplished.1
April, Henry's double dealing is frankly disclosed in the
1534 draft of a letter addressed to Wallop in April, 1534.
After directing the ambassador to invite Francis to
revolt against the pope, the king continues : " And
ye shall declare to our said good brother that we
send not these messages and requests unto him only
for displeasure that the said bishop has lately pro-
nounced a sentence against us, contrary to the law
and will of God, but ye shall assure our said good
brother upon our honour that in case he had given
sentence with us we would have laboured as diligently
and as studiously for his reformation as we will now."
Whether or not we believe what Henry here says,
the conclusion forced upon us by the letter is that
he had been cheating Francis all the time, and that
he had never had any intention of admitting the
jurisdiction of Clement.
1 Journal of House of Lords.
a Instructions to Sir John Wallop, April, 1534, R.O.
Henry VIII. , Box B, No. 10a, 6, and c.
END OF VOL. I.
LONDON: R. CLAY, soxs, AND TAYLOR. BREAD STREET HI LI.
>v X
Friedmann, Paul.
Anne Boleyn<
DA
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